Parisians Kylian Mbappé (right) and Ousmane Dembélé, on August 26, during PSG’s victory against Lens at the Parc des Princes. BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS
Eric Abidal had a heavy hand for Paris Saint-Germain. Thursday August 31, in Monaco, the former defender of the Blues, in charge of the draw for the Champions League groups, placed Kylian Mbappé and his teammates in a “group of death” made up of the Germans of Borussia Dortmund, the Italians from AC Milan and England from Newcastle.
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At the time of making the predictions, it was hard to imagine a more difficult group for the Parisians. Luis Enrique’s men will have to face the 2021-2022 Italian champions in particular, even if the Milanese saw their star Zlatan Ibrahimovic retire this summer. Borussia Dortmund will also be a complicated customer, the Germans having reached the final of the competition in 2014. Finally, Newcastle seem to be the weakest team in the group on paper, but the Magpies have taken on a new dimension since their acquisition by a Saudi Arabian public investment fund.
PSG has experienced a profound upheaval this summer, with in particular the departures of Neymar and Lionel Messi, and the arrivals of attackers Ousmane Dembélé and Gonçalo Ramos. The players of the capital will have a lot to do if they want to continue the series of the club, which has always qualified for the round of 16 in its last eleven participations. In 2022, PSG had been curtly released at this stage of the competition by Bayern Munich.
Lens with Arsenal
Unlike the Parisians, the Lensois inherited a more affordable pool for their return to the Champions League, fifteen after their last participation. The Artésiens will face the Spaniards of FC Sevilla, the English of Arsenal and the Dutch of PSV Eindhoven. In this group B, only the Sevillians participated in the last edition of the biggest European club competition, but had failed to qualify for the round of 16 and had consoled themselves by winning the Europa League, “small sister” of the Champions League.
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For their part, defending champions Manchester City have been placed in Group G, alongside Germans RB Leipzig, Serbian Red Star Belgrade and Youngs Boys, a Swiss club. Pep Guardiola’s men should have less difficulty in qualifying than Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona, group A favorites but who will still have to fight with the Danes of Copenhagen and the Turks of Galatasaray.
The ceremony was also an opportunity for Erling Haaland to continue filling his trophy cabinet. Already winner of the Champions League, the English championship and the FA Cup last season, the Norwegian striker from Manchester City has been voted UEFA player of the year. The Spaniard Aitana Bonmati was also crowned.
