© Reuters
Paris Saint-Germain have endured seven seasons of failure in their bid to win the Champions League since the club has been transformed by the riches of Qatar Sports Investments. Money has been poured into the side to recruit some of the brightest stars in the game along with numerous managers, but the ultimate European success has eluded the French outfit.
There has been huge frustration over their inability to compete with the best on the continent. Even the signings of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for huge sums have not been enough to close the gap. PSG have been dumped out of the competition at the round-of-16 stage for the last three years, including their heart-breaking loss to Barcelona in the 2016/17 term after allowing a four-goal lead from the first leg to slip. Last season, Manchester United staged a dramatic comeback in the Parc des Princes, eliminating Thomas Tuchel's men in controversial circumstances.
However, there have been encouraging signs this season, beginning with their opening match of the campaign. PSG hosted Real Madrid in their opening Group A contest and were able to brush aside Los Blancos with a 3-0 victory courtesy of a brace from former Madrid man Angel di Maria and a late strike from Thomas Meunier. Tuchel's men then displayed their resilience at the Bernabeu in their second match against the Spanish side. Karim Benzema had put Madrid 2-0 ahead with 10 minutes remaining, but Kylian Mbappe and Pablo Sarabia brought PSG level with two goals in four minutes, while they could have even snatched the game at the death as Mbappe fired wide.
Those performances do suggest that PSG are finally ready to take up the challenge and make a deep surge in the competition. They have decent value in the betting markets to win the Champions League given their potent strikeforce, with Neymar returning to form after spells on the sidelines. There are a host of new betting sites in the UK to find the best price for them to triumph, which could be profitable, although the proof will only come next year in the acid test of the knockout stage.
PSG have been drawn against Borussia Dortmund in the next phase of the competition, which hands them a great chance to progress to the quarter-finals. Tuchel will relish facing his former side, who have been inconsistent of late in the Bundesliga, although they did enough in a tough group with Barcelona and Inter Milan to finish second behind the Catalan club. The German outfit are weak defensively which should play straight into the hands of Tuchel and his team. Mbappe, Mauro Icardi and Neymar have the clinical edge to put Dortmund to the sword.
Whether they are able to hold their composure under pressure is another matter. Manchester United were seemingly there for the taking last season and PSG failed to advance. Dortmund are a stronger outfit than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men and a trip to Signal Iduna Park is always a daunting task for opposing teams. Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Julian Brandt are quality players and have the ability to hurt PSG if they're not on their mettle. The performances against Madrid suggest that this team is different from the ones of old. If not, then it could be another manager sitting in the dugout next season in the bid to end the cycle of underachievement.
