European success looks further out of reach than ever.
It will surprise no one that Paris Saint- Germain won their sixth Ligue 1 title in seven years. But what is an eyebrow raiser is that, overall, the French giants regressed during the campaign.
The club’s ultra-ambitious Qatari owners have made no secret of their desire to claim the Champions League trophy sooner rather than later. That’s why Spanish coach Unai Emery was given his marching orders even after winning a domestic treble last year. His replacement, Thomas Tuchel, came in from Borussia Dortmund with a sky-high reputation, yet only delivered one meaningful trophy, the league title.
Tuchel began the season with a 4-0 win against Monaco in the Trophee des Champions. PSG then broke the record for the most consecutive wins at the start of any Ligue 1 campaign with 14, while topping their Champions League group ahead of Liverpool, Napoli, and Red Star Belgrade.
But as 2018 rolled into 2019, the wheels started to come off. Tuchel saw his side crash out of the League Cup against soon-to-be-relegated Guingamp in the quarter-finals, then suffer a penalty shoot-out defeat in the Coupe de France Final against Rennes at the end of April. Sandwiched in between was a limp exit in the Champions League round of 16 to a struggling Manchester United.
Denne historien er fra June 2019-utgaven av World Soccer.
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Denne historien er fra June 2019-utgaven av World Soccer.
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Going for Gold in Paris- There are plenty of candidates vying for the Olympic gold medal in the women's football tournament this summer
There are plenty of candidates vying for the Olympic gold medal in the women's football tournament this summer
Face to face - Tom Sainfiet- The final goal is to reach the World Cup and write history - The Belgian coach speaks to World Soccer
The well-travelled Belgian coach speaks to World Soccer after taking charge of the Philippines-his 11th international coaching role
Inter cruise to title number 20
Simone Inzaghi's Internazionale shrug off all challengers before sealing the Serie A title in style against their biggest rivals
HAT-TRICK HERO
Ademola Lookman wrote his name into European football's history books with a hat-trick in the Europa League final
GOING UP
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Palau soldier on alone
The isolated Pacific nation faces a long and lonely battle to improve football on the island
Brazilian clubs eye Copa number six
As the Copa Libertadores group stage concludes, a sixth consecutive Brazilian winner is looking likely
AI Hilal sweep to another Saudi crown
The first edition of the Saudi Pro League's glamorous new era ends with a familiar title winner
Disasters brewing
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Second round of World Cup qualifying underway
Favourites perform largely as expected, yet Cayman Islands dominate the headlines
