How PSG matched then overtook Chelsea among football's elite

 
When the sides first met in Europe's elite competition, it was the French club who were playing catch up, but since then one team has thrived while the other has faltered

Part three of the trilogy between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the Champions League kicks off on Tuesday in the French capital. The score currently stands at one victory each, though since the first meeting between the clubs in 2014, the tables have turned subtly in the Ligue 1 champions’ favour.

When Jose Mourinho’s Blues approached the first encounter between the sides, they started as warm favourites to progress past the French upstarts. This they achieved, though only by virtue of the away goals rule after Demba Ba scored three minutes from the end of the second leg.

One year later but one round earlier, the clubs did battle again. Once more it was away goals that were decisive, though on this occasion they favoured the Parisians, who achieved an equally gripping success as they rallied from one goal and one man down to progress.

Twelve months on, Laurent Blanc’s men, for the first time, start as genuine favourites to overcome their English counterparts.

Chelsea, European champions four years ago, find themselves in a state of turmoil, languishing in the lower half of the Premier League table having made the limpest title defence in living memory.

Not so PSG. Treble winners in France last season, the capital outfit, whose budget admittedly dwarfs their domestic rivals’, are on course to repeat that feat and could even become the first team to ever navigate an entire Championnat campaign unbeaten.

Detractors could, rightly, point to the relative weakness of the French domestic game, particularly this season as the other traditional giants toil in a state of transition, yet the achievements of the Parc des Princes side are unprecedented and nevertheless remarkable.

And it is not only on the field that they are now excelling. Off it, the brand is thriving, with the club overhauling Bayern Munich to move fourth in the Deloitte Money League. Only Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona now generate more income.

As Chelsea made the mistake of falling back on Mourinho’s short-termism, PSG have gradually come to understand that optimum growth is achieved by stability and slow transformation.

While Blanc’s understanding and use of squad rotation has improved, there remains an obvious underpinning strategy and clear spine to the side. On the field, at least, each player has an obvious understanding of his role and an ability to execute it successfully. Chelsea, whose squad was fragmented during the tumultuous end to the Mourinho era, cannot claim the same.

Last week Blanc was handed a two-year contract extension, furthering the stability of PSG at a time when they might easily have rushed into a high-profile move for the Portuguese. In contrast, the Premier League side approach this fixture without a permanent manager and apparently no idea who it might be that takes over from Guus Hiddink in the summer.

A consistent policy from the coaching staff and board has allowed a slow but steady integration of younger players into the PSG side, though of course they have learned some harsh lessons from their failure to keep hold of Kingsley Coman. It is a mistake they are clearly eager not to repeat, though their inability to thus far tie down stellar talent Odsonne Edouard, an 18-year-old forward, shows that their strategy is not yet perfected.

Marco Verratti, Lucas Moura, Adrien Rabiot and Marquinhos, all 21 or under when named in the squad two years ago as PSG won the first leg 3-1 at Parc des Princes, have all seen their importance in the squad increase over the intervening period, with only Lucas Digne, shipped out to Roma on loan, having seen his progress stall.

In contrast, the Blues boasted only two players in a similar age bracket on that evening. Both Nathan Ake and Tomas Kalas were substitutes, but while the latter remains at the club, he is one of a myriad of players the Blues have loaned out. On the other hand, the left-back had to leave for Watford to find regular football. Between them they played just 16 first-team games in their Chelsea careers; at PSG, 20-year-old Rabiot alone has 25 this season.

The relatively recent integration of Bertrand Traore, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Baba Rahman, signed in the summer from Augsburg, hints that a long-term strategy is increasingly being considered at Stamford Bridge, though between them they have made only 26 senior appearances this term. Success in the Uefa Youth League last season will mean little to Chelsea if it does not benefit the first-team.

Even the prospect of PSG losing Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer, daunting though it is, has been eased by the relaxation of Financial Fair Play. The Swede’s contract ends in June, and while his future has not been confirmed, it is expected that he will depart Paris. With no spending constraints, though, PSG are ready to flex their financial muscles to secure another of the world’s best forwards, with the likes of Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo genuine targets.

All that is missing to legitimise PSG as one of the world’s great clubs is the Champions League trophy. Chelsea, of course, have already attained that status but are in a period of decline, and for the first time meet their French opponents as genuine underdogs. If they were to come through the two-legged tie, however, it would ease and potentially accelerate this period of transition.

Chelsea, of course, are far from dead as a European force, but at this current time they are not punching their weight. The same cannot be said of their increasingly formidable opponents.