Paris (France) (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain kick off their Ligue 1 campaign as overwhelming favourites to win a sixth successive title, but will have one eye firmly on their bid for a third straight Champions League crown.
Issued on: 20/08/2026 - 05:48
3 min Reading time
The capital giants eased to a record-extending 14th French top-flight triumph last season, despite often prioritising their European ambitions.They start their Ligue 1 campaign against Rennes on Sunday, hoping to make a quick start before the Champions League begins on September 8."When the season starts, everyone says the league is easy," said head coach Luis Enrique."Nothing is easy -- I don't recall any easy French league campaigns, at least not in the last three years."Their six-point winning margin over second-placed Lens last term was the second closest they have come to slipping up domestically since being beaten to the title by Lille in 2021.Two seasons ago, they finished a whopping 19 points clear of closest challengers Marseille.Across the past five campaigns, PSG have enjoyed an average title-winning margin of 10 points.After finally ending their long wait to translate that success to Europe in 2024/25, they backed it up with a second successive Champions League final victory, over Arsenal on penalties in May.Only three clubs have won three consecutive European Cups -- Real Madrid, Ajax and Bayern Munich."Everyone thinks we can win, but that's just theory. Now we have to prove on the pitch that we're up to the task," Luis Enrique said when asked PSG's Champions League chances this season."Historically, it's hard to find a team that wins all the time, but we're trying to be right there alongside those kinds of teams."Qatar-backed PSG have once again strengthened in the transfer market and held on to all of their most important players.Ferran Torres has joined from Barcelona after scoring Spain's winning goal in the World Cup final, while France left-back Lucas Digne has returned as back-up for Nuno Mendes."Like last year, we're still hungry for victories, trophies," said PSG midfielder Vitinha."It's very difficult to maintain those levels but we're still hungry and we'll be aiming to win."PSG comfortably rotated their side in Ligue 1 last term to boost their Champions League hopes and will be expecting to be able to do so again this time around.Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele only started 11 of their 34 Ligue 1 games last season.Coaching chaos
