Paris Saint-Germain struck a big blow on Wednesday evening at the Parc des Princes by dominating Chelsea (5-2) in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League. In a spectacular match, Paris was initially shaken before turning the match around thanks to a sparkling second half, symbolized by the stunning entry of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, author of two goals and an assist. Between the perfect performance of Bradley Barcola, the return to goal of Ousmane Dembélé and the valuable activity of João Neves, PSG sent a strong message to Europe. Some people may cringe when reading this article because the evening was so brilliant. But PSG are European champions and, as Luis Enrique often repeats, the demands must remain maximum. Behind this spectacular success, some questions still remain. Not red flags, but points worth highlighting ahead of the second leg at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday.
Should we be worried about Désiré Doué?
In the middle of this successful offensive evening, DĂ©sirĂ© DouĂ©’s performance left a more mixed taste. The former Rennais was not catastrophic, far from it. He was involved in the opening goal and delivered an inspired assist for DembĂ©lĂ© before the break. But overall, his match revealed a certain disconnection with his partners, as if the young Parisian sometimes sought to make the difference alone rather than serving the collective. In such an offensively oiled PSG, this slight discrepancy quickly becomes evident. This impression is all the more striking as his replacement completely changed the appearance of the match.
Kvaratskhelia’s entry was thunderous, with an assist and two goals in less than half an hour. The contrast inevitably left an impression. DouĂ© has, however, posted solid statistics this season in the Champions League with four goals and two assists in seven games. But in content, he appears less clean and less influential in recent weeks, particularly in Ligue 1. His passivity on the action which brought Chelsea’s equalizer did not help either. The talent is undeniable, but in European evenings of this level, PSG will need a more consistent Talent. “There is always noise around us, that means we are a great team and a great club. You have to get used to that in big clubs.”underlined Luis Enrique at a press conference.
Is PSG’s defense a real problem?
If the Parisian attack has hit hard again, the defense continues to raise some questions. Since a frosty evening on February 13 in Brittany, PSG has conceded twelve goals in the last month in all competitions, with three goals conceded against Stade Rennais, three against AS Monaco in Ligue 1, and four in the double confrontation in the Champions League, to which must be added the two pawns taken against Chelsea on Wednesday evening. Figures which raise questions for a team which aims to go far in Europe. Against the Blues, the two goals conceded illustrated certain fragilities already seen in recent weeks. “Defensive errors? We are a team that plays very offensively. When we play like that, we can concede goals… On the other hand, there was a lot of quality. Afterwards, we remain very solid even if we can sometimes concede goals, the other teams play very well too. But the most important thing is that we were able to win and go into the return match with this advantage», affirmed Lucas Hernandez in the mixed zone.
On these actions, several avoidable errors were observed. Nuno Mendes was notably at fault in the two London achievements, while Marquinhos sometimes seemed in difficulty facing the accelerations of Pedro Neto. In this context, Willian Pacho was often the one who saved the furniture with decisive interventions. Beyond individual errors, we also saw moments of collective uncertainty, with misunderstandings and a lack of communication between the defenders. Nothing dramatic for the moment, but faced with even more formidable opponents, these air holes could cost much more.
Is the trauma of CAN still present in Hakimi?
Achraf Hakimi’s performance also deserves reflection. The Moroccan full-back delivered a decent match, punctuated by a decisive pass and several interesting actions in his lane. He is involved in the opening of the score by throwing the first shift and also participates in the construction of the second goal. At the very end of the match, his fifty-meter rush and his back cross even allowed Kvaratskhelia to score his double. Offensively, Hakimi remains a player capable of turning a match around.
Image generation in progress
But this match also rekindles a debate around its current form. Since the painful failure during the last CAN with Morocco, defeated in the final at home against Senegal in a tense context, the Parisian side sometimes struggles to find his usual volume of play. Defensively, he suffered again against Neto and his very high positioning, even when cutting into the axis, sometimes left spaces behind his back. For a player who was crowned African Ballon d’Or 2025 and who remains one of the executives of PSG, the requirements are necessarily high. If Paris continues its European adventure and meets teams like Liverpool or Galatasaray, it will probably need an even more dominant Hakimi on both ends of the pitch. As he did so well last season.
