PSG/Chelsea – Warning! Dugarry ‘worried’ about a Paris side out of ideas

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·10 March 2026

PSG/Chelsea – Warning! Dugarry ‘worried’ about a Paris side out of ideas

Paris Saint-Germain lost 1-3 to AS Monaco last Friday during the 25th matchday of Ligue 1 2025-2026, and that was all it took for a wave of dramatization to sweep in, especially with Chelsea coming to town this Wednesday (kick-off at 9pm, broadcast on Canal+) for the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 (return leg on Tuesday, March 17). Unsurprisingly, former French international turned pundit Christophe Dugarry pulled out all the stops to judge the Parisian situation.

Dugarry: “Everything that made them strong for five months no longer exists.”

“PSG is overwhelmed, out of ideas, it’s actually quite sad. The self-persuasion or Coué method of Luis Enrique has its limits. At some point, reality catches up with you, and your team just can’t do it anymore. Everything that made them strong for five months no longer exists. We shouldn’t be afraid of words. And no one is sure of anything. For five months, we saw an exceptional Paris Saint-Germain. That means maybe we’ll never see Paris Saint-Germain at that level again. We have to accept that. And even the players have to accept it. We’ve all had moments in our careers when we were walking on water. It lasted weeks, months, years, it depends…”

Dugarry: “They’ve become a team that no longer scares anyone.”

There are levers that exist: resting during the off-season and not going to play in a Club World Cup. Bringing in new signings to energize the group and bring something new, that hasn’t been done. There are plenty of possible levers that haven’t been activated because Paris Saint-Germain saw themselves as very strong, and rightly so. They thought: ‘That’ll be enough,’ except it’s not. Today, Paris Saint-Germain is unrecognizable. They’ve become a team that no longer scares anyone. Luis Enrique is finally starting to worry. The Coué method no longer works. I hope for everyone who loves Paris Saint-Germain that things will get better, but I’ve been worried for a little while now.”

PSG has recently been less dazzling than at the end of last season, that’s undeniable. And the accuracy of Dugarry’s “analysis” stops there. To dare to claim that Paris is “out of ideas” because of a few setbacks in their results is borderline disrespectful to the team and their coach Luis Enrique. As well as to the listeners or readers of RMC Sport, who might expect a minimum of seriousness in the football opinions given there.

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The Parisians have appeared a bit physically worn out lately, possibly prioritizing the Champions League for higher intensity performances. There is a real lack of efficiency, caused notably by a slight loss of confidence. Something coach Luis Enrique has admitted.

But how can anyone say Paris no longer has a game plan? Or that this team no longer “scares” anyone? Can we really ignore their regular dominance and playing philosophy just because goals are lacking and there have been a few mistakes leading to conceded goals?

Against Monaco, for example (according to Whoscored): 20 shots to 11, 72% possession, more successful dribbles (10 to 4), more aerial duels won (15 to 2), more corners (7 to 3), and more balls in the opponent’s box (53 to 19). Enough to suggest that the result alone isn’t enough to claim PSG is in decline. The same goes for most of their poor results in recent weeks (Bilbao, Sporting, Rennes…).

As for the “levers,” it’s not as if PSG could suddenly cancel their participation in the Club World Cup after realizing they qualified for the Champions League final. There’s also the revenue generated and a title that was within reach. This season, we’ve also seen opportunities for young players, which is important in a project. And as Dugarry himself says, PSG could legitimately see themselves as “very strong.” Not to mention that signings have never been a guarantee of progress—Liverpool is an excellent example this season.

It’s sad to see that such strong statements can be “thrown out” without any analytical foundation on one of the most-followed sports media outlets in the country. We’ve been worried about the level of football analysis for a little while now. Some are overwhelmed, out of ideas.

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