Previewing PSG’s Tough Road to the Champions League Knockout Stage

The defending Ligue 1 champions must face Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Arsenal and more in the Champions League league phase.

PSG needs Ousmane Dembélé to translate his current goalscoring form to the Champions League. / IMAGO/Federico Pestellini

If Paris Saint-Germain wants to win its first ever Champions League title this year, it must first survive the toughest league phase draw of all the Pot 1 sides.

Despite PSG’s dominance in Ligue 1 over the last decade, the club has never reproduced its domestic success in Europe’s top competition. Even with some of the best players in the world representing the French giants over the years, including Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar, PSG’s trophy cabinet is still without a UCL title.

The reigning French champions put together their best Champions League campaign back in 2020 but could not overcome Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich in the final, losing 1–0 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

Since PSG’s sole UCL final appearance, patience has run thin in Paris. Knockout losses to Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the subsequent years have both the fans and players desperate to secure the ever-illusive Champions League title, especially in the aftermath of Mbappé’s departure.

As Luis Enrique embarks on his second Champions League campaign in charge of PSG, the former Barcelona manager faces a sizable challenge. The 12-time Ligue 1 champions must host Girona, PSV, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City at the Parc des Princes, and travel to England, Germany and Austria to face Arsenal, Bayern Munich, RB Salzburg and Stuttgart in the league phase.

PSG’s road to the knockout stage would be hard enough just drawing Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champions, and Bayern Munich, the side that eliminated PSG from the competition twice in the last five years, as its two opponents from Pot 1.

Yet the French champions also must face the Premier League and Bundesliga runners-up in Arsenal and Stuttgart, not to mention Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, who were the only side to defeat Real Madrid last year.

Even two of its remaining three opponents pose a larger threat than most of the other options in Pots 3 and 4. PSV are the defending Dutch champions and have yet to drop any points this season while Salzburg has only lost one match so far.

The good news for Enrique’s team is that come February, PSG just have to finish in the top 24 to avoid automatic elimination from the tournament. Those outside of the top eight must then compete in a two-legged play-off match to secure a spot in the round of 16.

The gauntlet awaiting PSG is less than ideal, but the tough competition could give the club the momentum it needs heading into the knockout stage where it will likely face some of the same opponents again.

Les Parisiens just need to get there first.