Paris Saint-Germain defeated Chelsea 3-0 (8-2 on aggregate, quarter-final to be played against Liverpool or Galatasaray) this Tuesday at Stamford Bridge in the second leg of their 2025-2026 Champions League Round of 16 tie. Following this victory, journalist Daniel Riolo spoke to RMC Sport.
Riolo: “Everything I say about the league no longer being a priority for PSG is a fact.”
“They are better than last year because they have won. When you’ve already won, you know how it’s done and you’re filled with a confidence that we saw in many matches. (…) Everything I say about the league no longer being a priority for PSG is a fact. Everything is geared towards the Champions League.”
In recent years, everything was geared towards the Champions League, but it was all done poorly. Now, everything is done right in terms of the mental and physical preparation of this team, which is like a well-oiled machine.
Riolo: “They are the clear favorites again this year.”
“We see a team that works properly, is cohesive, and has a project—even if I hate their vision of French football—but in terms of international development, it’s perfect. And that’s all the club cares about today. I think they are the clear favorites again this year. They are better because at this time last year, PSG struggled against Liverpool; they were weaker. Tonight, they are all at their peak.”
“Today, in the round of 16 against a good Premier League team, it wasn’t even a domination, it was a stroll. Everything we said about this hidden preparation to make the team strong in mid-March, we can see it now. Everything is programmed for this team to explode physically.”
Riolo: “She has Ligue 1 at her feet”
She doesn’t play on weekends, she has Ligue 1 at her feet, she has a perfect starting eleven, they’ll rotate 12, 13, 14 players like last year, and the machine is up and running.
As is often the case with Riolo, we find the idea that he’s absolutely right and that it’s undeniable. It’s the famous “PSG is harming Ligue 1 and has the LFP under its control.” The fact that Paris postponed its match is “obvious” proof. We shouldn’t interpret this as the Parisians wanting to take this match against Nantes very seriously, without wasting important energy for the Champions League and beyond.
There’s also the fact that the journalist had it all figured out, with a Paris operating in stealth mode, wanting to be ready now, and which is, of course, the favorite for the Champions League. Yet, last January, after the draw against Newcastle, Riolo claimed that PSG’s Champions League victory had “emptied our brains,” that we needed to remember the “difficulties against Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal.” PSG needed to “wake up” and “get back to work.”
A far cry from the famous plan he announced. But he was able to talk about it too; it’s easier to jump from one extreme to the other depending on the result, and you end up being right somewhere. And wrong, but that’s best left aside with grand pronouncements and raised voices.
Let’s admit there are some compliments, perhaps exaggerated because PSG didn’t exactly “stroll” against Chelsea. But this team has real potential; we’re far from discovering it.
