Luis Enrique's PSG send warning to Man City despite sixth-place Ligue 1 start

Manchester City will welcome a Paris Saint-Germain side sitting only sixth in Ligue 1 next Wednesday, but Luis Enrique's slow domestic start comes with a warning: the French champions had exactly the same points total after five games in his title-winning first season.

PSG's position is one of the more surprising features of the early European season.

The reigning French and European champions have collected only eight points from their opening five Ligue 1 matches, leaving them five behind unbeaten leaders Monaco.

Luis Enrique's side drew their first two games against Rennes and Lille before losing 2-1 at home to Monaco, although subsequent victories over Brest and Marseille have begun to steady the campaign.

For Manchester City, who host PSG at the Etihad in the Champions League on October 14, sixth place could therefore suggest that the visitors are arriving in unusually vulnerable form.

History says that interpretation should come with a significant caveat.

Luis Enrique has recovered from eight points before

When Luis Enrique began his first season in Paris in 2023-24, PSG also took precisely eight points from their opening five Ligue 1 fixtures.

They started with successive draws against Lorient and Toulouse, beat Lens and Lyon, then suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Nice.

The resemblance is striking: two victories, two draws, one defeat and eight points on both occasions.

What happened next in 2023-24 provides the warning for City.

PSG responded to the Nice defeat with a 4-0 victory over Marseille and embarked on a 26-match unbeaten league run stretching from September until late April.

They eventually won Ligue 1 with 22 victories, 10 draws and only two defeats, securing Luis Enrique's first French title despite their uncertain start.

That precedent does not mean the current PSG will inevitably produce the same recovery, but it demonstrates how little five domestic matches can reveal about the trajectory of one of Europe's strongest squads.

There is also little evidence of the same hesitation in Europe.

PSG opened their Champions League campaign by thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1, meaning both they and City enter their second league-phase fixture with maximum points.

Why this PSG is different from the 2023-24 version

There are, nevertheless, reasons why this season could test Luis Enrique differently.

PSG's attacking options have undergone substantial change since last season's Champions League-winning campaign.

Bradley Barcola, Goncalo Ramos, Kang-in Lee and Ibrahim Mbaye have all departed, while Ferran Torres, Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts are among those brought in to reshape the forward line.

Those moves have altered more than simply the personnel.

Barcola provided direct running and depth from wide areas, while Ramos offered a conventional centre-forward presence that Luis Enrique no longer possesses to the same extent.

Ferran arrived from Barcelona for around £43m and can operate centrally or from the flank, Godts offers carrying ability and pace, while Akliouche is comfortable combining between the lines.

The quality remains considerable alongside Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but PSG are having to establish new attacking relationships after reaching the summit of Europe with a highly settled unit.

Sports Mole has already examined how the summer arrivals have adapted, with Torres making the strongest early impression among PSG's new attacking options.

That process may partly explain why they have already dropped seven points domestically.

It also makes their upcoming schedule particularly revealing.

PSG return from the international break against Le Mans before travelling to Manchester, with a Ligue 1 trip to Strasbourg followed shortly afterwards by another Champions League heavyweight meeting against Barcelona.

City therefore face a PSG side in an unusual position: under greater pressure domestically than in recent seasons, yet with recent history showing that Luis Enrique's teams can grow substantially after slow beginnings.

The Ligue 1 table currently presents PSG as France's sixth-best team.

Their 2023-24 campaign is a reminder to City that, in October, such a description can be dangerously misleading.