French Soccer League Predictions and Discussion Thread (Ligue 1)

[temple]

But this is not the whole truth. Winning the Champions League isn't easy and just look how long it took Manchester City to finally win the Champions League. Pep Guardiola has been the coach since 2016 and it took them seven attempts to finally win it. There is money needed, luck needed, high quality players needed and so on and so forth. PSG did achieve something on the domestic level and they made it into the final once as well. But they never had a coach who understood how to develop a team for many years.

The sheikhs don't necessarily have to understand a lot about football as they can hire their managers, which is what they do. But money can make a big difference if all the rest is taken care of, too. That is why it worked for Manchester City and they could establish themselves as the best team in the Premier League despite all the fierce competition.

Well Winning the UCL requires a different tactics because it’s so different from most domestic leagues and we can see from ManCity. Winning the UCL requires experience, massive investments that could last a good time. PSG needs not just the investment but also fierce competition in their league, else they’ll still remain inferior when competing with several top clubs in Europe.

 They can get a good manager but when the team is still playing on average in the league, then they’ll not know the full potential of themselves to be able to compete in Europe. Well hopefully more foreign investors would come investing in the Ligue 1 to make it more tougher and competitive compared to other top European leagues, however I still have this believe that with Luis Enrique they could manage to reach the semifinals in this season's tournament.

That is the biggest problem PSG has. They don't have financial issues and they had some coaches that were not too bad, but the average competition in their domestic league makes it hard for them to peak at the right moment when they play in the Champions League. Premier League teams have to peak almost every week and in La Liga it is at least more often than it is in Ligue 1. In Ligue 1 PSG really has to peak every few weeks, if at all. They could play at 90% the whole season and still win the title easily.

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[Mustang Shelby]

But this is not the whole truth. Winning the Champions League isn't easy and just look how long it took Manchester City to finally win the Champions League. Pep Guardiola has been the coach since 2016 and it took them seven attempts to finally win it. There is money needed, luck needed, high quality players needed and so on and so forth. PSG did achieve something on the domestic level and they made it into the final once as well. But they never had a coach who understood how to develop a team for many years.

The sheikhs don't necessarily have to understand a lot about football as they can hire their managers, which is what they do. But money can make a big difference if all the rest is taken care of, too. That is why it worked for Manchester City and they could establish themselves as the best team in the Premier League despite all the fierce competition.

Well Winning the UCL requires a different tactics because it’s so different from most domestic leagues and we can see from ManCity. Winning the UCL requires experience, massive investments that could last a good time. PSG needs not just the investment but also fierce competition in their league, else they’ll still remain inferior when competing with several top clubs in Europe.

 They can get a good manager but when the team is still playing on average in the league, then they’ll not know the full potential of themselves to be able to compete in Europe. Well hopefully more foreign investors would come investing in the Ligue 1 to make it more tougher and competitive compared to other top European leagues, however I still have this believe that with Luis Enrique they could manage to reach the semifinals in this season's tournament.

That is the biggest problem PSG has. They don't have financial issues and they had some coaches that were not too bad, but the average competition in their domestic league makes it hard for them to peak at the right moment when they play in the Champions League. Premier League teams have to peak almost every week and in La Liga it is at least more often than it is in Ligue 1. In Ligue 1 PSG really has to peak every few weeks, if at all. They could play at 90% the whole season and still win the title easily.

This has both advantages and disadvantages. Since there are no very challenging matches in the league, they should normally focus on European tournaments comfortably. They also have the chance to rest their important players by making less effort, but PSG is experiencing big problems because they do not do this. Most of the criticism comes for this reason.

[borovichok]

That is the biggest problem PSG has. They don't have financial issues and they had some coaches that were not too bad, but the average competition in their domestic league makes it hard for them to peak at the right moment when they play in the Champions League. Premier League teams have to peak almost every week and in La Liga it is at least more often than it is in Ligue 1. In Ligue 1 PSG really has to peak every few weeks, if at all. They could play at 90% the whole season and still win the title easily.

A club that's 100% balance when it involves finances and the president is not ready to watch his club fold up other than generating quite enormous profits. PSG always comes first when it involves winning Ligue One trophy but I don't think they would be able to compete in UCL because it's an elite competition formulate only for tougher clubs that are craving for extreme titles. They always have this issues of appointing mediocre coach, incompetent coach that doesn't stand in any solid position to elevate the club to next level. They have Luis Enrique as headcoach, he will do more better than the previous manager.

[Marvell1]

Our gaze never leaves Paris Saint Germain when it comes to Ligue 1, it's no wonder as they are the only club that has it all, so they are always going to attract attention. On the one hand it's quite boring to see them dominating the league, but on the other hand we can't do anything about it because other clubs are not at the same level as Paris Saint Germain.
When they dominate and are very difficult to beat, we take it as a given because they are the strongest club, but when they have problems and decline we take it as something unnatural. The problem that occurs is when they decline and there is no club that can take advantage of their decline, even if there is it will not last long and in a short time Paris Saint Germain can return to where it should be.

They appear like the most elite team in the Ligue 1 so the attention been draged to the Ligue 1 is usually focused on them because they are the only team that gives the kind of performance and entertainment which people expect to see from the league, although other teams are trying to bring home the competition and fun but they aren't as good as PSG.

Bringing an end to the dominance of PSG on the Ligue one will definitely end the boredom associated with the Ligue 1 but then I still think PSG still have a long time to enjoy dominance as no team so far in the Ligue 1 is yet to exhibit competitiveness which could lead to the end of the PSG dominance in the Ligue 1 especially this season. Nice is the only team that seem to have the capacity to be able to strip PSG of their dominance but currently they don't appear like they have that ability this season probably next season but then I think as PSG is so focused on the UCL currently, it's an opportunity if well utilized for Nice.

Ligue 1 is like a picnic for Paris Saint Germain. If they hadn't lost the league to Lile a few seasons back, they probably would have won 10 seasons in a row. Marseille, Monaco, and Lile are some of the challenges for them in Ligue 1. But they cannot do much these days as PSG's financials are too good for them.

I would say the reason for PSG's dominance is their financial advantage. Every year they get some world-class players, some of them end up being a flop and some of them shine. Mbappe for example is a shining star for them. On the other hand, Neymar couldn't achieve much with them. Julian Draxler was also a young star who flopped in PSG. Due to their financial advantage, they could afford players like Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe altogether. This is nothing easy even for other big clubs. But after all this, they can't do much in the Uefa Champions League. I think the reason for that is they lack class. They don't have an identity of their own, no history either. They need a few years to build it.

[sana54210]

Last dominance teams success stop PSG won Ligue 1 tittle is Lille but they have one season quit well performance only before becoming mediocre teams and one years after winning domestic league failed to finish on Champion League spot standings. Not easy how to get top performance with less financial support such as PSG easily for spending much money without break out financial fair play rule and give highest payment salary for their players.

In this season likely keep label  Ligue 1 is farmer league with PSG keep dominance on the first standings, have losses points on several matches but not any Ligue 1 teams can pressure PSG on the top standings position behind 5 points left and could be more than ten points remaining for several matches later.

I mean Lille did achieve something amazing, but we also have to accept that it was a bit of a luck as well. Look at how they did before that season and after that season to see why I say that was luck. PSG wasn't as great that year, but also Lille played way better than anyone expected them to and everything went their way, that's why it's such an important situation.

I believe that we should be careful and we should consider that PSG will not have that type of opponent that easily, it is not going to end up being that quite easy to achieve that. PSG will keep on winning until some other team is bought by some other rich person and filled with great players, in that case we could finally see PSG not being the best team there.

[Belarge]

Ligue 1 is like a picnic for Paris Saint Germain. If they hadn't lost the league to Lile a few seasons back, they probably would have won 10 seasons in a row. Marseille, Monaco, and Lile are some of the challenges for them in Ligue 1. But they cannot do much these days as PSG's financials are too good for them.

I would say the reason for PSG's dominance is their financial advantage. Every year they get some world-class players, some of them end up being a flop and some of them shine. Mbappe for example is a shining star for them. On the other hand, Neymar couldn't achieve much with them. Julian Draxler was also a young star who flopped in PSG. Due to their financial advantage, they could afford players like Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe altogether. This is nothing easy even for other big clubs. But after all this, they can't do much in the Uefa Champions League. I think the reason for that is they lack class. They don't have an identity of their own, no history either. They need a few years to build it.

Good history brings the whereabouts of success, no club that stands strong in the modern day of football that doesn't have regular style of prehistory football records. Good history from PSG and this have stand out to aides in helping their present. It's their birthright, PSG will continue to dominate and win major trophies. Currently, the club is not having any significant push to elevate their performance rather they will rather stick to becoming a good upgraded team that's desperate for a win and success is the major next thing that would happen to the club.

[rahmad2nd]

A club that's 100% balance when it involves finances and the president is not ready to watch his club fold up other than generating quite enormous profits. PSG always comes first when it involves winning Ligue One trophy but I don't think they would be able to compete in UCL because it's an elite competition formulate only for tougher clubs that are craving for extreme titles. They always have this issues of appointing mediocre coach, incompetent coach that doesn't stand in any solid position to elevate the club to next level. They have Luis Enrique as headcoach, he will do more better than the previous manager.

For this season, as I often say in many posts, if PSG is not targeting the Champions League trophy this time. how can Enrique be able to make it happen, with the team squad they currently have. that doesn't mean the PSG squad isn't filled with other talented and competitive players. it's just that based on my personal point of view, this time PSG is building the foundation of the team's squad first by recruiting several young players. plus, Enrique still needs other arrivals that the club needs. especially if in the end the rumors about Mbappe leaving turn out to be true. which means, PSG or Enrique will have to look for a potential replacement next summer. well, at least now PSG has returned to the top of the Ligue 1 standings. PSG's performance is quite impressive when playing match after match, except when they visit Lille's headquarters. after appearing unbeaten in the last few weeks, Lille was finally able to end PSG's victory and the match ended in a draw.

However, IMO PSG is in a fairly safe zone even though they are only 5 points ahead of Nice who are below their ranking. if PSG restarts its match with lots of wins, it will be difficult for other teams to compete closely with the French League champions. as for the team that might be able to get close to PSG, namely AS Manaco. at least based on the assessment and what I saw, Monaco is much better than Nice and the same goes for future progress.
Well, we're back to PSG. I'm not quite sure if PSG can go far in the Champions League competition. but at least, they have a chance to overthrow Real Sociedad. maybe in the following seasons, once this team is strong enough, PSG will again target the Champions League trophy.

[RaltcoinsB]

That is the biggest problem PSG has. They don't have financial issues and they had some coaches that were not too bad, but the average competition in their domestic league makes it hard for them to peak at the right moment when they play in the Champions League. Premier League teams have to peak almost every week and in La Liga it is at least more often than it is in Ligue 1. In Ligue 1 PSG really has to peak every few weeks, if at all. They could play at 90% the whole season and still win the title easily.

A club that's 100% balance when it involves finances and the president is not ready to watch his club fold up other than generating quite enormous profits. PSG always comes first when it involves winning Ligue One trophy but I don't think they would be able to compete in UCL because it's an elite competition formulate only for tougher clubs that are craving for extreme titles. They always have this issues of appointing mediocre coach, incompetent coach that doesn't stand in any solid position to elevate the club to next level. They have Luis Enrique as headcoach, he will do more better than the previous manager.

Maybe Luis Enrique could have won the UCL if he had the squad of Messi-Neymar-Mbappe trio. I think PSG fans must also think that they are working with bad coaches in this regard. At that time, there was no other team in the world that had the squad they had. They were the best squad on paper and looked even stronger than City. However, coaches and team balance may change. I think that's exactly what happened.

[Falconer]

-snip-

This has both advantages and disadvantages. Since there are no very challenging matches in the league, they should normally focus on European tournaments comfortably. They also have the chance to rest their important players by making less effort, but PSG is experiencing big problems because they do not do this. Most of the criticism comes for this reason.

Many Ligue 1 matches are actually difficult matches for PSG, but because of the depth of their squad and the right strategy, they can be expected to win. PSG basically will never be able to win all the league matches throughout the season even though they have a good squad above the average of other teams, but it is true that no other team can provide real competition every season for PSG in the league.

PSG always has competitors in the race for the title in Ligue 1, but the problem is that other teams always fail to maintain consistent performance throughout the season. This is what makes PSG successful in dominating Ligue 1, meaning that apart from their superior squad depth, the competing teams are also not too strong in providing competition until the end of the season.

[Hvdv]

Ligue 1 is like a picnic for Paris Saint Germain. If they hadn't lost the league to Lile a few seasons back, they probably would have won 10 seasons in a row. Marseille, Monaco, and Lile are some of the challenges for them in Ligue 1. But they cannot do much these days as PSG's financials are too good for them.

I would say the reason for PSG's dominance is their financial advantage. Every year they get some world-class players, some of them end up being a flop and some of them shine. Mbappe for example is a shining star for them. On the other hand, Neymar couldn't achieve much with them. Julian Draxler was also a young star who flopped in PSG. Due to their financial advantage, they could afford players like Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe altogether. This is nothing easy even for other big clubs. But after all this, they can't do much in the Uefa Champions League. I think the reason for that is they lack class. They don't have an identity of their own, no history either. They need a few years to build it.

Good history brings the whereabouts of success, no club that stands strong in the modern day of football that doesn't have regular style of prehistory football records. Good history from PSG and this have stand out to aides in helping their present. It's their birthright, PSG will continue to dominate and win major trophies. Currently, the club is not having any significant push to elevate their performance rather they will rather stick to becoming a good upgraded team that's desperate for a win and success is the major next thing that would happen to the club.

I think they need to stop expecting immediate success and put the system in place. PSG has a strong economic situation. Their presidents are investing heavily in the club financially. Therefore, it would be more logical and long-term to be systematic rather than acting hastily.

[Oluwa-btc]

That is the biggest problem PSG has. They don't have financial issues and they had some coaches that were not too bad, but the average competition in their domestic league makes it hard for them to peak at the right moment when they play in the Champions League. Premier League teams have to peak almost every week and in La Liga it is at least more often than it is in Ligue 1. In Ligue 1 PSG really has to peak every few weeks, if at all. They could play at 90% the whole season and still win the title easily.

A club that's 100% balance when it involves finances and the president is not ready to watch his club fold up other than generating quite enormous profits. PSG always comes first when it involves winning Ligue One trophy but I don't think they would be able to compete in UCL because it's an elite competition formulate only for tougher clubs that are craving for extreme titles. They always have this issues of appointing mediocre coach, incompetent coach that doesn't stand in any solid position to elevate the club to next level. They have Luis Enrique as headcoach, he will do more better than the previous manager.

Winning the Champions League should be possible honestly, but it'll take them time and years to assemble that competitive and competent squad. They need to bring in players who are damn ready for business and not making finesse when playing on the pitch. Manchester City also took time and some key players to come into the squad before they could win the league finally.

They now have a good coach who has won the Champions League before, he can still win again if they give him time to sign and work with players who he thinks are capable of playing for long term plans of the club.

I wished he was the coach around with players like, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Junior and Lionel Messi. During his time with Barcelona the NSM dominated the La Liga Competition.

[Weawant]

Good history brings the whereabouts of success, no club that stands strong in the modern day of football that doesn't have regular style of prehistory football records. Good history from PSG and this have stand out to aides in helping their present. It's their birthright, PSG will continue to dominate and win major trophies. Currently, the club is not having any significant push to elevate their performance rather they will rather stick to becoming a good upgraded team that's desperate for a win and success is the major next thing that would happen to the club.

They have maintained a very good and historical records in the Ligue one and so far it doesn't seem like any other team is able or ready enough to dispute or probably change the narrative  because PSG still maintains that prowess amongst other teams in the Ligue 1 this season much more like they have done subsequently.

I would think that PSG would focus more on getting the champions league title which have been their biggest dream, this has been one of the reasons the team continually invest in buying players all most at every transfer windows because they are hoping to achieve this dream some day, if it will take them forefeiting the Ligue 1 title for a season, after all the have had this title for almost a decade so if they win same title again it's like nothing new to anyone but if they get the UCL then it will do so much good to them, bother the attention they will get, the pay and so many other benefits that comes with it.

[Fara Chan]

I think they need to stop expecting immediate success and put the system in place. PSG has a strong economic situation. Their presidents are investing heavily in the club financially. Therefore, it would be more logical and long-term to be systematic rather than acting hastily.

It makes sense to organize things systematically in the long term, especially if it is supported by enormous economic power to be used by a team like PSG. Because it is also often seen clearly in every season that PSG has a pretty good drive so they don't need to do anything in such a hurry, especially in Ligue1 there is no team that is able to match PSG in every season so PSG looks like they are not competing in Ligue1, but will pay more attention to other competitions so that they can win even though PSG also often wins in Ligue1 because most of the teams here are teams that do not exceed PSG's strength.

[Docnaster]

I think they need to stop expecting immediate success and put the system in place. PSG has a strong economic situation. Their presidents are investing heavily in the club financially. Therefore, it would be more logical and long-term to be systematic rather than acting hastily.

It makes sense to organize things systematically in the long term, especially if it is supported by enormous economic power to be used by a team like PSG. Because it is also often seen clearly in every season that PSG has a pretty good drive so they don't need to do anything in such a hurry, especially in Ligue1 there is no team that is able to match PSG in every season so PSG looks like they are not competing in Ligue1, but will pay more attention to other competitions so that they can win even though PSG also often wins in Ligue1 because most of the teams here are teams that do not exceed PSG's strength.

One of the main problems of Paris Saint Germaine since the their current owners took over the management of the club is that they spend all the huge money to buy big players and expect an immediate success and that has been working for them in the league but not in the UEFA champions league competition and if they really want to succeed in the UEFA champions league, they'll have to learn how to be patient with the process and build a team that'll end up winning club football's biggest trophy for the club.

If they can start doing a long-term plan at the club, I think they'll have more chances of winning the UEFA champions league than what they're current short term strategy.

[shogun47]

But the imbalance between their offensive game and their defensive game has been PSG's biggest problem ever since I know the club and ever since I have been following their games. Their offense has never really been a problem, but the issue was that their defense was out of balance because they afforded three players in their attacking line that never did defensive work. I think in modern soccer no team can afford three players of the same type who are just waiting at the midfield line to get the ball and start an attack. If you look at players like Lewandowski or Harry Kane, the effort they put in to help their defense is incredible. A team may have one player like Mbappe who is just waiting for the ball, but PSG often had three of them.

Yes, that's true and I agree with you that PSG always doesn't have a balance between the attack line and the defense line and what I don't like the most about Mbappe is that this player often doesn't want to help in defense line and more often waits for the ball and scores and this often happens in several matches and anyone who doesn't believe it can see for themselves when PSG competes that Mbappe will rarely help defense line.
In fact, as quality player he must be able to control all lines to make maximum contributions without having to wait for the ball but it is better to also help secure the ball and on one hand, PSG defense often makes mistakes by being too focused on helping score but not seeing the empty space in their defense. so there was a break.
So I often say that PSG actually doesn't deserve the Champions League trophy even though every line isn't perfect.

They would have to make sure that they have two world class strikers and then put a lot of emphasize on the quality of a broad and balanced midfield. They have had too many potential offensive players in all of their lines. Even Hakimi is an offensive defender and that was too much attack at once. They have always had problems in their backwards movement and that is where other top teams knew they could hurt PSG. Every single time in the Champions League there was a team that understood how to exploit that PSG weakness.

[rendravolt]

I think they need to stop expecting immediate success and put the system in place. PSG has a strong economic situation. Their presidents are investing heavily in the club financially. Therefore, it would be more logical and long-term to be systematic rather than acting hastily.

It makes sense to organize things systematically in the long term, especially if it is supported by enormous economic power to be used by a team like PSG. Because it is also often seen clearly in every season that PSG has a pretty good drive so they don't need to do anything in such a hurry, especially in Ligue1 there is no team that is able to match PSG in every season so PSG looks like they are not competing in Ligue1, but will pay more attention to other competitions so that they can win even though PSG also often wins in Ligue1 because most of the teams here are teams that do not exceed PSG's strength.

There is no team that can compete with PSG in terms of finances or achievements each season so it is clear that the winner in Ligue 1. It would not be surprising if PSG continues to dominate even for the next decade and as long as teams in Ligue 1 do not get worthy investors like PSG then it is possible to Even being able to be on par with PSG will be difficult. Maybe Monaco or Nice, who are currently in the top flight with PSG, are nothing more than teams participating in the competition and at the end of the season it will be clear who the title will be. vIt is very difficult for other teams to catch up with PSG and that is why this league is always labeled the farmers' league by most people because that is what it is.

[JariKriting]

That is the biggest problem PSG has. They don't have financial issues and they had some coaches that were not too bad, but the average competition in their domestic league makes it hard for them to peak at the right moment when they play in the Champions League. Premier League teams have to peak almost every week and in La Liga it is at least more often than it is in Ligue 1. In Ligue 1 PSG really has to peak every few weeks, if at all. They could play at 90% the whole season and still win the title easily.

PSG's finances are so strong that no club in the French league can come close to PSG's financial strength.
With very strong financial strength PSG can build its squad with the best players and the best coaches too. because they can buy players or pay players and coaches expensively without any financial problems.
So to win the French league for PSG is very easy.

[tbterryboy]

There is no team that can compete with PSG in terms of finances or achievements each season so it is clear that the winner in Ligue 1. It would not be surprising if PSG continues to dominate even for the next decade and as long as teams in Ligue 1 do not get worthy investors like PSG then it is possible to Even being able to be on par with PSG will be difficult. Maybe Monaco or Nice, who are currently in the top flight with PSG, are nothing more than teams participating in the competition and at the end of the season it will be clear who the title will be. vIt is very difficult for other teams to catch up with PSG and that is why this league is always labeled the farmers' league by most people because that is what it is.

I agree with you on few points like most chances if PSG will be stayed under control of Qatari owners then no one will be able to compete with them but if they fail to have Champions League then surely we will have some move from them in near future because this was in news few months back if they fail to win this event then most chances they will look for the new owners and who could be this nothing is sure about this and if we have things like these surely we will have impact on team and its performance as well even this could be positive or negative like Chelsea nothing is sure.

Currently, they are doing good job and have some improvement with needs more consistency which can bring good results and depth in team which is important for the win of Champions League now it's time for them to keep Luis Enrique which can bring good improvement and good results in Europe as well.

[temple]

That is the biggest problem PSG has. They don't have financial issues and they had some coaches that were not too bad, but the average competition in their domestic league makes it hard for them to peak at the right moment when they play in the Champions League. Premier League teams have to peak almost every week and in La Liga it is at least more often than it is in Ligue 1. In Ligue 1 PSG really has to peak every few weeks, if at all. They could play at 90% the whole season and still win the title easily.

PSG's finances are so strong that no club in the French league can come close to PSG's financial strength.
With very strong financial strength PSG can build its squad with the best players and the best coaches too. because they can buy players or pay players and coaches expensively without any financial problems.
So to win the French league for PSG is very easy.

Yes they can buy all of what you have mentioned. Players, coaches, facilities, marketing and whatever else a club could need to improve everything. But there is one thing they can't buy and this has been mentioned here before in the thread and that is competition. They can't buy high level competition and therefore they play below their maximum level most of the time and then when they have a game in the Champions League they suddenly need to play on a higher level. I think that is a huge disadvantage because imagine you are a marathon runner and you never compete with the best runners in the whole world for a whole year. You can check their times, that is different of course, but in general the idea is that the best runners push you to new maximum performance levels. That is what PSG doesn't have in Ligue 1.

[Awaklara]

Yes they can buy all of what you have mentioned. Players, coaches, facilities, marketing and whatever else a club could need to improve everything. But there is one thing they can't buy and this has been mentioned here before in the thread and that is competition. They can't buy high level competition and therefore they play below their maximum level most of the time and then when they have a game in the Champions League they suddenly need to play on a higher level. I think that is a huge disadvantage because imagine you are a marathon runner and you never compete with the best runners in the whole world for a whole year. You can check their times, that is different of course, but in general the idea is that the best runners push you to new maximum performance levels. That is what PSG doesn't have in Ligue 1.

There is no competition in Ligue 1 for PSG. They always dominate and if any other team wants to take over PSG's throne in Ligue 1, it will be tough competition.
If financially the French clubs can't keep up with PSG, then what happens every season will only be like this. PSG's dominance in Ligue 1 will be unmatched. and as you said, that will also be PSG's weakness when they have to be forced to play with other teams in Europe who are used to tough competition.
Ligue 1 must be like La Liga or EPL.