The date has been postponed to September so that Thomas Tuchel’s men have more time to recover from their Champions League efforts
Paris Saint-Germain were granted an extended hiatus before starting the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season after their trip to Lens was postponed.
The reigning champions were expected to start their title defense on Saturday at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, six days after the 1-0 Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich in Lisbon.
Thomas Tuchel’s men played three Champions League games in 12 days in Portugal – where the competition ended having been stopped in March due to the coronavirus pandemic – and PSG wanted to give their players more time to recover before start the new season.
The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) confirmed that PSG’s request has been approved by both Lens and the local broadcaster Canal +, with the appointment readjusted to Thursday 10 September.
Furthermore, this weekend’s clash between Strasbourg and Nice has been brought forward by one day, in the Saturday night time slot originally occupied by Lens’s home game against PSG.
????️ Modified schedule for @RCLens ???? @PSG_inside is @RCSA ????@ogcnice
Press release ????➡️ https://t.co/dtYzYvzDHt pic.twitter.com/QdKhzy9Lrh
– Professional Football League (@LFPfr) 25 August 2020
The Lens game, which now comes after the international hiatus, will still be PSG’s first game of the new season, and three days later it will host rivals Marseille.
Marseille were supposed to start their campaign last Friday, but their trip to Saint-Etienne was postponed after OM confirmed they have four positive COVID-19 cases on their squad.
On Tuesday, Marseille revealed “three new suspected cases of COVID-19 have been detected” and said the LFP had been notified.
Given the LFP directive that more than three positive cases would likely lead to a postponement, Marseille’s trip to Brest this weekend would now also appear to be in doubt.
Andre Villas-Boas’s side were named runner-up in Ligue 1 when the 2019-20 season was abandoned in April, with PSG winning their third consecutive crown after being 11 points clear of the top with one match in hand when the game was stopped.
The Parisians also won Trophee des Champions, Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France last season to complete a national quadruple, while their clash with Bayern last weekend marked the club’s first-ever appearance in a European Cup final.
.
