Chevalier at fault in PSG’s shocking defeat to Sporting in Champions League | OneFootball

Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat against Sporting in their penultimate Champions League group stage game.

Despite PSG’s attacking impetus and domination in possession, goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier’s big-time errors proved costly.

Warren Zaire Emery almost put Luis Enrique’s side in front with a composed header into the net, but VAR chalked it off due to Senny Mayulu’s foul in the build-up.

The Portuguese side always looked dangerous whenever they caught PSG on the break, and a great opportunity arrived at the start of the second half. However, Luis Suarez couldn’t capitalise on Francisco Trincao’s overcooked cross.

Suarez made amends by breaking the deadlock after blasting home from close range. Chevalier played an indirect part in it after unnecessarily conceding a corner kick prior to the strike.

The visitors restored the parity quickly after goalkeeper Rui Silva stood no chance against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s peach of a curler from long range.

However, Sporting snatched away a victory in the eleventh hour after Suarez headed home on the rebound of Chevalier’s save.

The French keeper should have dealt better with Trincao’s powerful strike, but he instead parried away straight into Suarez.

Chevalier is now facing an immense scrutiny after yet another uninspiring display in what is turning out to be a turbulent 2025/26 season.

He was regarded as one of the most coveted keepers at Lille, but has failed to cope with expectations since moving to Parc des Princes last summer to fill in Gianluigi Donnarumma’s shoes.

With the fans already disappointed with Donnarruma’s controversial exit, who was pivotal behind the extraordinary 2024/25 season, Chevalier’s underwhelming displays against Marseille and Strasbourg only fuelled their backlash against the former Lille star.

Matvey Safonov appeared to had seized the first-choice goalkeeping spot with his eye-catching heroics in the Intercontinental Cup victory against Flamengo, but a hand fracture he suffered during the penalty shoot-out has now allowed Chevalier to get back into the fold.

The defeat against Sporting has dented PSG’s chances of securing automatic qualification to the Round of 16.

They need to win their final group game against Newcastle United next week and also rely on other teams’ results to avoid entering the play-offs.