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Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, the two clubs who have taken turns dominating French football so far this century, pits the stuttering reigning champions against opponents who have hit a rich vein of form. PSG head into the final round of Ligue 1 games this calendar year unbeaten domestically and with a five-point lead from nearest challengers Marseille and Monaco at the top of the table. However, they have struggled to convince recently and have been held to draws in their last two domestic outings, against Nantes and Auxerre.

At least they breathed life into their faltering Champions League campaign in midweek, a 3-0 win at Red Bull Salzburg calming fears that they might not make the knockout phase of Europe’s elite club competition.

Even then, coach Luis Enrique suggested his team had played better in earlier games against PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid, neither of which they won.

“To be honest we didn’t play better than we did against PSV or Atletico. We were worse, but that’s football,” said the Spaniard.

All is far from rosy at the Parc des Princes, amid recent reports in the French media of a rift growing between the coach and certain players.

Their best performer this season has been young winger Bradley Barcola, who has scored 10 goals, but he has gone off the boil lately and will hope to find form again as he comes up against the club he left last year.

Lyon, who won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles in the first decade of this century, have often been a thorn in PSG’s side even if they have won just one of the last eight meetings of the clubs.

Afer stumbling in the early weeks of this campaign, they look in superb shape just now, on a run of nine games unbeaten and just one loss in 15 altogether.

They have won their last four matches and scored at least three goals in each of them, including an entertaining 3-2 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League on Thursday.

That game, in which Rayan Cherki was outstanding, saw Lyon secure a place in the knockout phase play-offs of the Europa League at least.

Domestically, meanwhile, they are currently fifth and would be just six points behind PSG with a victory in the capital. They cannot be written off right now.

Player to watch: Rayan Cherki

The 21-year-old was a transfer target for PSG during the last close season but ended up staying at Lyon where he is now playing the best football of his career. 

The gifted winger or attacking midfielder may yet leave Lyon in January due to his current club’s need to raise funds in the transfer market.

That would be a blow for Lyon coach Pierre Sage, who has seen Cherki score two goals and set up three in two games over the last week. Sage feels his player deserves to be in the next France squad.

“I think today Rayan is being watched and is under consideration,” he said of a player who featured sparingly in the France side that won Olympic silver.

“His experience at the Olympics was not very positive but now he has other arguments in his favour and, if he gets a call-up, he will deserve it.”

Key stats

8 – Brest are enjoying a heroic campaign in the Champions League but have lost eight times in Ligue 1 this season — that is one more defeat than in all of the last campaign.

15 – Also doing well in the Champions League, Lille are unbeaten in 15 games before Saturday’s clash with Marseille.

6 – PSG have lost six times to Lyon in Ligue 1 since the transformative takeover of the club by Qatar in 2011. Only Rennes (7) have recorded more wins against Paris in that time.

Bukayo Saka’s double fired Arsenal a step closer to the Champions League last 16 as the England forward inspired a 3-0 win against Monaco on Wednesday. Saka netted late in each half and Kai Havertz struck in the closing minutes at the Emirates Stadium to lift Mikel Arteta‘s side into third place in the revamped league phase. The Gunners have won four of their six European games this term and, with two matches remaining, they control their destiny in the race for the top-eight finish that guarantees automatic progress to the last 16. Clubs that finish ninth to 24th in the 36-team first phase face a play-off to determine if they will advance.

With games against Dinamo Zagreb and Girona to come in January, the north Londoners will be confident of avoiding that unwanted obstacle.

After a damaging 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Premier League last weekend, Arsenal’s fifth win in their last six games in all competitions was a welcome tonic.

With Arsenal’s defensive injury crisis showing no signs of abating, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu were all absent.

That meant Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey started out of position at right-back despite missing training on Tuesday.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18, came in at left-back for just his second Arsenal start, with his other coming in the League Cup against third-tier Bolton.

The youngest player to start a Champions League match for Arsenal since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2011, Lewis-Skelly rose to the occasion with a composed display.

In contrast, Gabriel Jesus has gone 32 games without a goal for Arsenal and the Brazilian’s lack of confidence was clear in the hosts’ first dangerous attack.

Picked out by Gabriel Martinelli‘s pass, Jesus should have hit the target but could only muster a tame shot straight at Monaco keeper Radoslaw Majecki.

Jesus failed to time his run well enough to reach Mikel Merino’s teasing cross moments later.

Aleksandr Golovin nearly caught out Arsenal keeper David Raya with a long-range strike that fizzed just past the far post.

Jesus’ travails showed no signs of ending as a raking long pass sent him clean through for a low shot that was too close to Majecki.

The 27-year-old was having a torrid time and, teed up by Martinelli, again he couldn’t beat Majecki with a close-range effort that drew a fine save from the ‘keeper.

But Jesus’ clever movement was at least causing Monaco problems and he played a key role in Arsenal’s 34th-minute opener.

Lewis-Skelly slipped a superb pass to Jesus, who ran in behind the Monaco defence and delivered a low cross that presented Saka with a simple tap-in for his fourth goal in his last six games.

Martin Odegaard squandered a golden opportunity to double Arsenal’s lead just before half-time as he robbed Soungoutou Magassa, but fired wide with only Majecki to beat.

Thilo Kehrer should have made Arsenal pay for their profligacy early in the second half, but his header flashed wide from 10 yards.

Arteta’s men lost concentration for a long period after the break and Takumi Minamino tested Raya before Breel Embolo drilled inches wide following sloppy defending from William Saliba.

But Arsenal emerged unscathed and wrapped up the points in the 78th minute.

Majecki didn’t clear his lines quickly enough when Havertz put the ‘keeper under pressure, allowing Saka to steer his shot into the empty net from close range.

There was still time for Arsenal to put further gloss on the scoreline in the 88th minute as Havertz turned in Saka’s shot.

A Mason Greenwood penalty in the 89th minute handed Marseille a 2-1 victory over Monaco and sent them into second place in Ligue 1 on Sunday, while Alexandre Lacazette netted a hat-trick as Lyon beat rivals Nice 4-1. Earlier, Lille passed up the opportunity to move provisionally into third place in Ligue 1 after conceding a late equaliser to bottom side Montpellier. After leaders Paris Saint-Germain drew on Saturday, it was the chance for the second- and third-placed sides to close the gap to the top.

And it was Marseille who took that chance with their slender win leapfrogging them above Monaco into second place on goal difference, the pair are tied on 26 points — seven behind PSG.

Aleksandr Golovin made the breakthrough for Monaco four minutes before half-time with a deflected finish.

But Marseille struck back in the 53rd minute through Luis Henrique.

A half-blocked cross appeared to be going behind but spun on the line to stay in at the near post and Neal Maupay reacted quickly to nod it across the goalmouth, where the Brazilian was on hand to head in his sixth goal of the season.

The decisive moment then came in the 87th minute when the referee adjudged that Monaco’s Christian Mawissa had blocked a cross with his hand.

Greenwood duly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to seal the comeback win for Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

In Lyon, Lacazette scored twice in the first half, before putting the cherry on top for the home side with a 69th-minute penalty.

Sofiane Diop had equalised for Nice midway through the first period, before Lacazette and Jordan Veretout struck to open up a two-goal buffer by the interval.

Lyon move up to 22 points, two ahead of Nice in sixth place and one behind fourth-placed Lille.

Lacazette sent his side ahead on four minutes, poking home a cross at full stretch.

Nice hit back in the 22nd minute as Diop did well to reach Mohamed-Ali Cho’s back-post cross.

Lacazette and Veretout scored in the 41st and 43rd minutes to restore Lyon’s lead, before the former Arsenal forward made the points safe with a second-half spot-kick.

“This victory is good for us and rounds off a great week,” said Lacazette, after Lyon also won by the same scoreline against Azeri side Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday.

‘Anything is possible’

Earlier, Jonathan David twice gave Lille the lead from the penalty spot in either half but Issiaga Sylla struck in first-half injury time and Arnaud Nordin then found a 93rd-minute leveller for Montpellier as the points were shared in a 2-2 draw.

“We offered far too little to be more dangerous (in the second half), to create more situations for ourselves and to put ourselves in the clear,” said Lille coach Bruno Genesio.

“We know that in this kind of match, anything is possible right up to the end.”

Lille sit three points behind third-placed Monaco, while Montpellier stay rooted to the foot of the table, five points from safety.

Canadian attacker David broke the deadlock in the 44th minute as he sent Benjamin Lecomte the wrong way from 12 yards.

The lead only lasted three minutes with Sylla rising highest to glance home a corner on the stroke of half-time.

David restored Lille’s lead from the spot nine minutes into the second half and the visitors appeared set to win until the third minute of stoppage time.

Lille failed to clear the danger from a cross and after ping-ponging around the box, the ball landed for Nordin who finished gleefully from close range.

Montpellier forward Tanguy Coulibaly was sent off in the 99th minute for firing the ball at Genesio after a foul was given against the Frenchman.

In the chaotic aftermath of the incident, Lille substitute Mitchel Bakker was also given his marching orders.

Eighth-placed Auxerre went down 2-0 at Toulouse thanks to two goals in seven first-half minutes from Joshua King and a Vincent Sierro penalty.

Angers took an invaluable three points in the relegation battle with a 1-0 win against Le Havre, who dropped into 16th spot.

Paris Saint-Germain find themselves in familiar territory following their midweek defeat against Bayern Munich, as a side that is too strong for its domestic rivals in France struggles in the Champions League. There is perhaps a difference this time, however — while PSG have often not lived up to their potential in Europe, this season they appear simply nowhere near as good as the best teams on the continent. Luis Enrique’s side offered little attacking threat in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss in Munich, in which goalkeeper Matfei Safonov was at fault for the goal and Ousmane Dembele was sent off.

PSG have just four points and have suffered three defeats in five games in the Champions League, meaning they sit 25th out of 36 teams.

That leaves them one place and two points outside the qualifying spots for February’s knockout phase play-offs, and they will surely need to win at least two of their three remaining matches to avoid elimination.

Such a fragile position means Luis Enrique is naturally in the firing line, with doubts surrounding his tactics — “The method without any effect,” read one headline in sports daily L’Equipe on Thursday.

In particular, his penchant for playing without a centre-forward since the departure of Kylian Mbappe and the loss of Goncalo Ramos to injury.

Randal Kolo Muani, a big-money signing who was expected to step up following Mbappe’s exit, has become an outcast.

A France regular, Kolo Muani has started just twice all season for PSG and did not come off the bench against Bayern.

Yet Paris have scored only three goals in five Champions League matches, one of which was an own goal.

“To be the coach of PSG is a privilege. The pressure I put on myself is greater than any external pressure,” Luis Enrique said in Munich.

“I am not here just to pass the time. My objective is to win titles and to do so now, not in the future.”

PSG are on course to do that domestically, as they are unbeaten in Ligue 1 and six points clear of nearest challengers Monaco before hosting struggling Nantes this weekend.

At home they average three goals a game with Bradley Barcola their leading marksman on 10. They have lost just one of their last 41 Ligue 1 matches.

France’s other Champions League representatives — Monaco, Lille and Brest — are all doing well in Europe but it is not a great look for Ligue 1 that PSG continue to cruise at home while toiling abroad.

The current vintage is maybe the weakest PSG side since the first season of the Qatari takeover in 2011/12, with the possible exception of 2016/17.

That latter campaign followed Zlatan Ibrahimovic‘s departure and was prior to the arrivals at the Parc des Princes of Neymar and Mbappe.

Monaco pipped PSG to the title that year, and appear the most likely threat to their hegemony again this time.

Player to watch: Hamed Junior Traore

The 24-year-old Ivorian attacking midfielder is surely the signing of the season so far in Ligue 1.

Traore joined Auxerre on loan from Bournemouth after spending the second half of last season at Napoli. And he is the main reason why newly-promoted Auxerre sit a lofty seventh a third of the way through the season. 

He has six goals in 10 Ligue 1 appearances, including a last-gasp winner against Angers last weekend.

One more against Toulouse on Sunday and he will match his best-ever tally for a single league season, of seven for Sassuolo in Italy in 2021/22.

Key stats

7 – Brest have suffered as many defeats in Ligue 1 this season as in the whole of the last campaign.

300 – PSG captain Marquinhos could make his 300th Ligue 1 appearance this weekend.

3 – Marseille have conceded three goals in each of their last two home games. They have not done so in three successive home top-flight games since 1962.

Fixtures (times GMT)

Friday

Reims v Lens (1945)

Saturday

Rennes v Saint-Etienne (1600), Brest v Strasbourg (1800), Paris Saint-Germain v Nantes (2000)

Sunday

Montpellier v Lille (1400), Lyon v Nice, Toulouse v Auxerre, Le Havre v Angers (all 1600), Marseille v Monaco (1945)

Paris Saint-Germain outclassed their bitter rivals Marseille 3-0 at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday, sending the champions three points clear at the top of Ligue 1 after Monaco suffered their first defeat of the season. The highly-anticipated first Classique of the season was all but over as a contest by the interval as PSG raced into a three-goal lead over Marseille, who had lost Amine Harit to a straight red card midway through the first period. “It’s a very positive result,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “That is a given when you win a Classique away from home with such authority.

“We dedicate this victory to the fans. It’s an important match for them and for our place in the table.”

Joao Neves gave the visitors the perfect start early on, before a disastrous 10-minute period just prior to the half-hour saw Marseille lose Harit and ship a second goal when captain Leonardo Balerdi turned into his own net.

Bradley Barcola then tucked away PSG’s third, and his eighth of the season.

It was a chastening night for Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille, who had enjoyed a strong start to the campaign and went into the match with the possibility of joining their biggest rivals on 20 points with a victory.

But instead they endured their 12th-straight home match against PSG in the league without a win as hundreds of their fans had already made for the exit by half-time.

“I’m disappointed. We had prepared a match of courage and personality. But up until Harit was sent off, there was neither courage nor personality,” said De Zerbi.

“It wasn’t the match we had in mind and that’s a problem. We can lose, but when you wear the Marseille shirt, you can’t play without personality and courage,” added the Italian coach.

Portuguese midfielder Neves made his mark seven minutes into his first Classique when he pounced on a handling error by goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli to open the scoring.

In the 20th minute, the match swung definitively in PSG’s favour when Harit was given his marching orders after catching Marquinhos in the stomach with a high boot.

“The sending-off changed the game,” said Luis Enrique. “From then on, the match was harder for our opponents and less open.”

As if to compound Marseille’s misfortunes, Balerdi doubled the away side’s lead nine minutes later as he stretched to cut out a seemingly routine cross and ended up knocking the ball past the advancing Rulli and into the goal.

Barcola put the cherry on the cake for PSG five minutes before the break, finishing after determined build-up play by Ousmane Dembele.

‘Two stupid mistakes’

Earlier, high-flying Monaco passed up the opportunity to go top of the table when they lost 2-1 at neighbours Nice.

Breel Embolo gave the visitors a first-half lead before Nice struck back via Evann Guessand and Gaetan Laborde to inflict 10-man Monaco’s first loss of the domestic campaign.

The principality side remain in second place on 20 points, three points behind leaders PSG.

“I’m not happy with the result,” said Monaco coach Adi Huetter. 

“When you lose a derby, everyone is disappointed, that’s clear. But we’re guilty because we had the game in our hands. And it came down to two stupid mistakes.”

Embolo broke the deadlock for Monaco in the 39th minute, finishing neatly after being released by Maghnes Akliouche’s through-ball.

But the match turned in first-half stoppage time as Guessand headed in an equaliser for Nice and Monaco’s Brazilian defender Vanderson then picked up a second yellow.

A poorly-executed corner routine cost Monaco as Laborde was gifted the opportunity to run through completely unchallenged, before finishing on 71 minutes.

Lyon drew 2-2 at home to Auxerre to move to seventh in the table.

Georges Mikautadze twice gave the hosts the lead but they were on both occasions pegged back by Sinaly Diomande and Hamed Traore.

Strasbourg climbed to the top half of the table by beating Nantes 3-1, thanks to a brace from Andrey Santos and a Dilane Bakwa goal.

Two goals in the opening 10 minutes by Zakaria Aboukhlal sent Toulouse on their way to a 3-0 win at lowly Montpellier.

Monaco went top of the Ligue 1 table on Saturday with a 2-1 win away to Rennes, moving three points ahead of reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain. Goals from Thilo Kehrer and Folarin Balogun sent the principality side to 19 points. PSG, who are on 16 with a better goal difference, will have the chance to overtake them when they play Nice on Sunday. “After seven games, we have 19 points, that’s the reality and the truth, and we’re really happy about that,” said Monaco coach Adi Huetter.

However, he added: “The championship is not a 100-metre sprint, it’s a 400-metre race, and we’ve started very well.”

Monaco’s match in the rain in Brittany was decided early in the first half. Kehrer opened the scoring before Ludovic Blas levelled and Balogun then tucked home the winner, all in the first 22 minutes.

Continuing his fine start to the season, Monaco youngster Eliesse Ben Seghir had a part in both of his side’s goals.

His sixth-minute corner met the head of Kehrer, who glanced it into the back of the net despite the efforts of a defender on the line.

Blas put Rennes back on terms five minutes later with a rocket of a left-foot strike from more than 35 yards that flew past Philipp Koehn.

But Balogun wrapped up the points for Huetter’s side when he clipped the ball past an advancing Steve Mandanda in the 22nd minute after a defence-splitting pass from Ben Seghir.

Earlier on Saturday, Lille moved up to fourth, coming from behind to win at home against lowly Toulouse.

Zakaria Aboukhlal gave the 16th-placed side a surprise lead six minutes before the interval when he squeezed a shot on the rebound over the line from a tight angle.

But former Manchester United playmaker Angel Gomes levelled for Lille on 57 minutes when he prodded home Osame Sahraoui’s lofted pass from close range.

Mitchel Bakker made it two wins in a week at home for Lille — after Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League — with a composed finish in the 72nd minute, rounding off a swift counter-attack.

A hat-trick from Zuriko Davitashvili propelled Saint-Etienne out of the relegation zone as they beat Auxerre 3-1 at home.

The Georgian opened the scoring first after a quarter of a hour with a thumping finish after carrying the ball 40 yards into the visitors’ penalty area.

He hit his second on 54 minutes after again cutting in from the left flank and taking aim with his right foot.

Theo Bair halved the deficit with 15 minutes remaining, before Davitashvili completed his triple with a dinked finish on 87 minutes.

On Sunday, Lyon host Nantes while Reims and Lens are also in action, before PSG travel to ninth-placed Nice.

Spanish giants Barcelona travel to the Principality to face AS Monaco in their UEFA Champions League opener at Stade Louis II. The Catalan club, last crowned Champions of Europe in 2014/15, is desperate to battle their way back into the European elite after years in the wilderness and after a strong start under new coach Hansi Flick, their hopes are rising. Flick’s men have five wins from five in La Liga and have Spain’s teenage Euro 2024 star Lamine Yamal playing a decisive role in their attack. However, Monaco shocked Barcelona when the two sides met last month.

Adi Hutter’s Monaco were Barca’s guests for their pre-season curtain raiser and scored a shock 3-0 win at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium. Monaco have also started the season on a positive note, winning three of their first four games.

When is the Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match taking place?

The Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match will take place on Friday, September 20 (IST).

Where will the Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match be played?

The Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match will be played at Stade Louis II, Monaco.

What time will the Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match start?

The Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match will start at 12:30 AM.

Which TV channels will live telecast the Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match?

The Monaco vs Barcelona UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match will be live telecast on the Sony Sports network.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match?

The Monaco vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2024-25 group stage match will be live streamed on the SonyLIV app and website.

(All details are as per information provided by the broadcaster)

Approaching a decade since Barcelona last won the Champions League, the Catalan giants face Monaco in this season’s European opener on Thursday aiming to make a statement. The club are desperate to battle their way back into the European elite after years in the wilderness and after a strong start under new coach Hansi Flick, their hopes are rising. There were some signs they were on the right track in Europe last season when they reached the quarter-finals for the first time in four years.

After a 3-2 win at Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg they collapsed at home after Ronald Araujo was sent off in the first half with Barca leading by a goal.

PSG netted three times to oust Xavi Hernandez’s side 6-4 on aggregate and the coach was sacked at the end of a disappointing trophyless season.

Flick’s Barcelona have five wins from five in La Liga and have Spain’s teenage Euro 2024 star Lamine Yamal playing a decisive role in their attack.

The winger has developed at an alarming rate since making his Barcelona debut aged just 15 in April 2023.

Now 17, Yamal struck twice as Barcelona thrashed Girona 4-1 in the league on Sunday, avenging two heavy defeats by their fellow Catalans last season and demonstrating the team’s early progress.

“Lamine is a difference-maker… for me, he is already one of the best players in the world at 17 years of age,” said admiring Girona coach Michel Sanchez.

“It is difficult to imagine that after (Lionel) Messi another one would come along, but I hope that Lamine keeps improving because he’s a player than can reach that level.”

Even though comparisons to eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, Barcelona’s best ever player, pile pressure on Yamal, they keep flooding in.

Yamal’s emergence is yet another feather in the cap of the club’s feted La Masia youth academy and as shown on the way to glory with Spain in Germany this summer, he can make the difference for his team in any match.

The winger already has three goals and four assists this season, well on the way of matching his tally of 12 goal contributions last term.

Barcelona are still stricken by economic difficulties, signing only Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig this summer and struggling for a few weeks to register him with La Liga, but they have an immediate superstar in Yamal.

Defender Pau Cubarsi, also 17, is another from La Masia playing at a high level, along with other homegrown squad members like Alejandro Balde, Marc Casado and Gavi, who is on the comeback trail after a long-term injury.

The emergence of these players can help Barca battle with the continent’s best on a more even footing despite their financial handcuffs.

‘Confidence’ game

Barcelona welcome Bayern Munich to their temporary Olympic Stadium home and travel to face last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund in the pick of their group stage fixtures.

Hosts Monaco were Barca’s guests for their pre-season curtain raiser and scored a shock 3-0 victory in Catalonia.

That is long forgotten now with the Catalans raising their game several levels in the weeks since and showing the sort of swagger that helped them win La Liga in 2023.

“I think you can see the confidence we have, and when we have the ball, we have the quality to play and to create chances,” said Flick after the destruction of Girona.

The game brought one piece of bad news as Olmo suffered a hamstring injury which rules him out for around a month.

Flick may be forced to move winger Raphinha back into a central role against Monaco, the position in which he started the season before Olmo was registered.

Despite the injury, with veteran striker Robert Lewandowski in strong form and Yamal’s star continuing to rise, Barcelona are ready to show they have recovered European powerhouse status.