The elimination of Paris Saint-Germain against Paris FC is not only measured by the emotion caused at the Parc des Princes, it is above all part of a major statistical break. By losing in the round of 16, the capital club put an end to an almost unchallenged domination of the Coupe de France, built on more than two and a half years of uninterrupted success. Arriving in the summer of 2023, Luis Enrique thus concedes his first setback in a major national competition since moving to Paris, stopping in his tracks an impressive series marked by three Champions Trophies, two Ligue 1 titles and two French Cups. A track record which reflected a total control over French football, now cracked by a setback as unexpected as it was symbolic.
Because this misstep comes after 1,070 days without the slightest elimination in the Coupe de France for PSG. The last outing dates back to February 8, 2023, against Olympique de Marseille in the round of 16, at the Vélodrome. Since this setback, the Parisians had chained 13 consecutive victories in the competition, winning two consecutive titles in the final, against Lyon in 2024 then Reims in 2025. More broadly, this early elimination is an anomaly in the recent history of the club: we have to go back to January 2014 to find PSG exited in the round of 16, at the time against Rolland Courbis’ Montpellier. Since 2015, Paris had reached the final nine times in eleven editions, winning eight trophies, illustrating an almost industrial regularity brutally stopped by Paris FC, author of a feat which will remain as one of the most improbable of the Qatari era.
