PSG showed their dominance on the European front once again by becoming only the second side in history after Real Madrid to defend their Champions League crown.
The French giants did not have it easy, though, as they had to go the difficult route of winning via penalties after playing out to a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in Budapest. The Gunners scored early through Kai Havertz before Ousmane Dembele leveled from the spot in the second half. It seemed like a game that could go either way, but PSG eventually held their own to win 4-3 after penalties, crowning them champions of Europe once again.
It is commonplace that the team that wins the Champions League is often described as the ‘best team in the world,’ but many have been debating how PSG came about defending their crown, saying they might not necessarily be the best team in the world.
PSG could afford to rest players in Ligue 1
Ligue 1 is not as competitive as the Premier League, La Liga, or even the Bundesliga, allowing PSG the chance to rest key players as they want and prioritize the Champions League, helping them keep their players fresh. One of the many impressive things that Luis Enrique has done for PSG is seeing Ligue 1 for what it is. For emphasis, in the 2021/22 season, former player Mbappe played 3000 minutes across 35 games. Dembele has fewer Ligue 1 minutes in the last two seasons combined.
To add to that, Ligue 1 aided PSG’s Champions League quest by postponing games multiple times to give them more room for rest. It was never the case for their final opposition in Arsenal, who were in a title race up until the middle of May and could not afford to rest key players in any way. PSG might have also beaten the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea en route to the final, but those two sides were more or less way below their usual standards in the just-concluded campaign. Chelsea even failed to qualify for Europe altogether, finishing tenth in the Premier League.
Are PSG the best team in the world?
The easy answer to the question is yes, but there are question marks over how they went about defending their Champions League crown. Many also pointed out that they could not score against Arsenal in open play, while the Gunners were denied a penalty of their own. They are indeed a top side with many world-class players, but whether or not they are the best team in the world remains rather debatable.