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·11 March 2026

PSG v Chelsea: Liam Rosenior’s blunt take before the big clash

Article image:PSG v Chelsea: Liam Rosenior’s blunt take before the big clash

This Wednesday at 9pm (broadcast on Canal+), Paris Saint-Germain (1st in Ligue 1) faces Chelsea (5th in the Premier League) at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 (return leg on March 17) for the 2025-2026 season. In a press conference, the Blues coach Liam Rosenior spoke about this match and the Parisian opponent.

Rosenior: “The way they ran and pressed the ball, what they were doing so beautifully at that moment”

“Did you watch the last encounter between PSG and Chelsea, in the Club World Cup final, won by the Blues 3-0 on July 13, 2025? Yes, I was at home in Derby. It was a great match, between two fantastic teams. The (Chelsea) players delivered an incredible performance that day, but that doesn’t predict anything about what will happen tomorrow (Wednesday). The context is completely different. How do you feel about your return to France, given that you were coaching Strasbourg just two months ago? I had an incredible experience in this country, with a great league, excellent coaches, and great players. Especially those at PSG. Last season, I showed my players at Strasbourg video clips of PSG matches, where you could see the Parisians’ intensity, the way they ran and pressed the ball, what they were doing so beautifully at that moment.

Rosenior: “PSG remains a world-class team”

PSG’s level of play has been criticized in recent days. What do you think? When you’re successful, people want to bring you down. It’s normal, it’s the natural cycle of life. Likewise, when top clubs face difficulties, they get criticized. What I can say is that PSG remains a world-class team, just like their manager.

Rosenior: “It will be a very difficult challenge tactically, technically, and physically”

How do you approach this round of 16 at the Parc? It will be a very difficult challenge tactically, technically, and physically, even though we also have world-class players. When I arrived at Chelsea, I said I was a fairly confident person. Well, two months later, I’m even more confident, because I know my players better, and they know me better as well.”, comments relayed by L’Equipe.

In essence, Rosenior’s comments resemble those of a clear-headed coach ahead of a match that could define a season. Yes, PSG arrives with doubts and a level of play that has been questioned in recent days, but Chelsea is not preparing for this trip as a mission against a wounded giant that has become harmless.

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On the contrary, the English coach emphasizes what Paris is capable of producing when its collective intensity comes alive again: suffocating pressing, aggressive runs, and the ability to impose a major tactical, technical, and physical challenge. His remarks thus say one simple thing: Chelsea comes with confidence, but without arrogance.

And in a Parc des Princes hosting the first leg this Wednesday at 9pm, this caution is a true sign of respect for an opponent still seen as a world-class team. This wariness is not just a press conference façade. Rosenior knows French football from the inside after his recent stint at Strasbourg, and his perspective therefore carries more weight than a diplomatic pre-match statement.

When a coach who just left Ligue 1 continues to speak about PSG with such caution, it also shows that Paris’s current dip does not erase either their ceiling or their ability to reignite the fire on a big European stage.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

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