Online Reporter
Paris St Germain are often praised for their incisive attacking play but the 2-0 victory over Lens on Wednesday which sealed a fifth straight title showed they have the mentality to win games even when they are on the back foot, said boss Luis Enrique.
Goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and substitute Ibrahim Mbaye secured the win that put PSG beyond the reach of Lens in the Ligue 1 title race.
“Today, we spent more time defending than usual,” said Luis Enrique. “But if you want to win trophies, you have to be able to dominate both offensively and defensively. And the team today showed the mentality it needs to win.”
PSG won the league with just one game to spare, a much tighter margin than in their 2024-25 campaign when they had the title wrapped up with six games left. “This is the sweetest and hardest title to win. The hardest of the three years we’ve had here, without a doubt. But that’s also because Lens did a very good job,” the Spanish manager said.
“And I remember certain moments from this season, the kind of matches they won and the number of consecutive matches they won. And it was tricky. We had to deal with that.”
PSG face neighbours Paris FC in their final league game on Sunday, before taking on Premier League club Arsenal in the Champions League final later this month. Meanwhile, this latest league title adds to their trophy haul for the season, in which they had already won the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Intercontinental Cup and French Champions Trophy.
There might yet be more to come, as the defending European champions face Arsenal in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30 – they will become just the second team in the modern era to win back-to-back European Cups if they defeat the Gunners. “We wanted to come here and win, but we especially want to prepare for the final on May 30,” last year’s Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele told broadcaster beIN Sports.
“We have one more game to come on Sunday (against Paris FC). We will celebrate this because it’s official now, we are champions.”
Lens, meanwhile, are now guaranteed to finish second, securing a spot in the league phase of next season’s Champions League as they prepare to return to that competition for the first time since 2023/24.
The northern side will also face Nice in the French Cup final on Friday, May 22.
This game could have taken on far greater significance had it been played on its scheduled date in April. But it was postponed to allow PSG to rest in between the two legs of their Champions League quarterfinal against Liverpool.
That ultimately took the sting out of the occasion, and the visitors came into the contest without key players including Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, captain Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz and Warren Zaire-Emery in their starting line-up. Despite the changes, PSG went ahead at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis when Dembele intercepted a Malang Sarr clearance and this week’s winner of the Ligue 1 player of the year prize released Kvaratskhelia to control and score.
Abdallah Sima hit the post for Lens on 74 minutes, and Florian Thauvin had a goal disallowed for offside late on, before Senegal international Mbaye made it 2-0 in stoppage time after being set up by Desire Doue. – SuperSport
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