The 2024-25 season for Paris Saint-Germain is one of two halves. For the first several months of the season, they were like a baby giraffe learning to walk. They did some things right, but many things wrong, including their struggles to score goals. However, since early December, the team has found its way and has improved so much that some are starting to wonder if this is finally PSG’s year to win the UEFA Champions League.
After PSG defeated Liverpool FC and sent them home to play https://legalcasino.uk/casinos/, the narrative around the club has completely changed. Football fans, in general, are now calling PSG likable for their attack-minded style of football. The team consists of young, talented footballers instead of the ego-centric superstars of the past. No one could have predicted that in late March, following the departure of Kylian Mbappé, PSG would be undefeated in Ligue 1 and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It’s a testament to the sporting project that Luis Enrique, PSG’s manager, and Luis Campos, PSG football advisor, have built.
The win over Liverpool was important because, up until that point, PSG had struggled against Europe’s elite. They previously lost to Arsenal FC, FC Bayern Munich, and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League league phase. Defeating Liverpool and, more importantly, dominating them—despite what the final aggregate score—opened eyes around Europe that PSG might have finally put together a squad capable of winning the Champions League.
Up next for PSG in the quarter-finals is Aston Villa, a team with several familiar faces. Unai Emery managed PSG from 2016 to 2018 and is now the manager at Aston Villa, where he has done an exceptional job. He’ll be looking for some payback against his former employers. There’s also Lucas Digne, a former PSG player now at Aston Villa, and Marco Asensio, who is currently on loan from PSG to Villa. On paper, PSG is the favorite to advance in the tie, but they can’t underestimate Emery’s squad. It will be interesting to see how PSG reacts to being the favorite heading into a massive Champions League tie.
If PSG can advance past Villa, it will set up a meeting against either Arsenal or Real Madrid. Both teams present unique challenges and come with their own storylines. Of course, a Real Madrid vs. PSG matchup would see Mbappé go up against his former team. Can PSG keep their former superstar from reaching the Champions League final? If it’s Arsenal, PSG will be presented with another opportunity to defeat the North London side after a one-sided defeat at the Emirates Stadium earlier this year. It would also be the third English side PSG would have knocked out in the tournament.
Somehow, if PSG can get past Villa and either Real Madrid or Arsenal, they will be battle-tested for the final. They could go up against Bayern Munich again, or their old friends FC Barcelona, but after the gauntlet PSG has already been through, they would have to be favorites to get the job done and win the first Champions League title in club history.
