UCL Preview: Shorthanded PSG welcome Atalanta
The Champions League is back and it's time for the first match for holders and Ligue 1 McDonald's champions Paris Saint-Germain -- get the latest as they host Serie A side Atalanta.
Enrique's shorthanded attack
Already missing longer-term absentees Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, the task at hand of PSG defending their European crown has been a bit more difficult with the news that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (calf) and Lee Kang-In (knee) are also doubts. Thus, with that quartet absent, the team will be more reliant on Bradley Barcola to take the lead in attack, something the young Frenchman has done with aplomb of late, with four goals in as many matches for club and country.
Elsewhere in the team, there will be no small amount of pressure on Lucas Chevalier as he makes his European debut for the club at the Parc des Princes, but Enrique has averred that his side understand both a dangerous opponent and the importance of the occasion, saying, "Every Champions League game is difficult, and the pre-match feeling is the same as what it has been in the past. Kids never stop playing, and it's the same for us as a team. We always want to play our style of football, and we can't wait for this competition to start."
🏟️✨ pic.twitter.com/MXcpsfY1Zp
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) September 16, 2025
A much-changed opponent
For years, the Bergamo-based side have punched above their weight, regularly impressing in Europe (including a 2024 Europa League title), and becoming renowned for both their development of players and their swashbuckling play. This summer saw a marked change, though, in the form of the departure of long-time manager Gian Piero Gasperini. A constant through the club's historic recent run, he's now been replaced by Ivan Juric.
Juric has had an up-and-down career as a manager but after a pair of middling draws, things looked to have clicked this weekend in a 4-1 demolition of Lecce. But having lost leading scorer Mateo Retegui and with Ederson and Ademola Lookman sidelined for this encounter, this is a side that will have to back themselves under a manager with little experience at the highest level, as captain Marten de Roon expressed pre-match, saying: "We've always been good away from home in Europe, we want to show that with Jurić we're a top-class team. We want to be up to the task of facing the best in Europe.”
Predicted lineups:
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3): Chevalier; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz; Mbaye, Ramos, Barcola
Atalanta (3-4-3): Carnesecchi; Scalvini, Hien, Djimsiti; Bellanova, De Roon, Pasalic, Zalewski; De Ketelaere, Krstovic, Maldini
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