Club Brugge vs PSG: Les Parisiens look to begin UCL challenge
PSG will again hope to end their long wait for a Champions League title as they open their campaign against Club Brugge on Wednesday evening. For Les Parisiens, who unfortunately had to settle for a runners-up medal after losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich (with a goal, ironically, scored by former player Kingsley Coman), winning the Champions League has now almost become an obsession. Ever since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) took over the club about a decade ago, they’ve wasted no expense on buying the players they feel will take them to that next level and finally earn them respect as a fully-recognized European elite side.
However, despite spending big on players like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, it hasn’t happened just yet. So, this past summer, they decided to make a bold acquisition – and secure the services of none other than six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi. Unlike Mbappe and Neymar, Barcelona icon Messi didn’t cost PSG anything in terms of transfer fees, so it’s safe to say they’ve likely made the biggest acquisition fans have seen in a long time. Naturally, everyone is eager to see the new MMN (Messi-Mbappe-Neymar) trio in action and if it’d be able to measure up to the MSN (Messi-Suarez-Neymar) triumvirate that won several titles, including the Champions League, with Barcelona.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened in Ligue 1 just yet – but fans and neutrals could be in for a huge treat on Wednesday evening, as both Messi and Neymar, who missed out on PSG’s win over Clermont due to just having returned from South America, will be back in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI. And Mbappe, who suffered an injury while on international duty for France, has since recovered, so fortunately for PSG – and unfortunately for Club Brugge, perhaps – all three will likely be unleashed in Wednesday’s match.
Considering that this quartet also has Manchester City and RB Leipzig for company, it’s safe to say that Club Brugge look set to really be in for a rough time. They may be considered giants in Belgium after winning their 17th league title last season, but they did recently lose 6-1 to fellow Belgian outfit Genk and have won just two of their last 12 Champions League matches, and both those wins were against Russian outfit Zenit – not exactly a team that’s anywhere near a top side in Europe.
So, it’s not shocking that Brugge have never made it into the knockout rounds in this competition, and barring a shocking turn of events, it’s hard to see how they’ll be able to match wits with PSG or Manchester City to secure a spot in the round of 16. And RB Leipzig will present another formidable foe if Brugge have any hopes at securing third and dropping down into the Europa League, so for all intents and purposes, the hosts’ main focus will be to keep the score-line as respectable as possible and try to contain PSG for as long as they can. They’ll have nightmares, though, of the last time they faced PSG back in 2019, during which Les Parisiens won 6-0 on aggregate, including a 5-0 win in Belgium during which Mbappe grabbed a hat-trick.
We all know PSG will certainly score goals, and many will be very interested to see if this is the match in which Messi opens his account for his new club. Will Brugge become the first victims of the much-anticipated debut of football’s latest dynamic attacking trio?
