How worried should Paris Saint-Germain fans be about their poor start to the season?

After two Champions League titles in a row, it’s certainly strange to see PSG find themselves in such a rut at the start of this season, but what initially could have been dismissed as a harmless blip has now indisputably become something more problematic for the club.

The Trophée des Champions defeat to Lens was followed up by zero wins in PSG’s first three games of the season, two 2-2 draws in which PSG came back from 2-0 away from home to salvage a point, at Rennes and then at Lille, and Friday’s 2-1 home defeat to Monaco, in which PSG took the lead through Marquinhos but then conceded two second half goals to fall behind and lose. So just how concerned should PSG fans be at the start to a season, which is their worst since 2007, a long time before the Qatari takeover of the club?

Should PSG fans be worried with their poor run of form?

Well, their coach Luis Enrique didn’t seem too concerned, at least, as he spoke after the game about a bet he was willing to make with journalists about who would wind up winning the league at the end of the season. PSG still are favourites for the Ligue 1 title but currently find themselves in 13th, already seven points adrift of Monaco who are top of the league. More concerning perhaps than the league form, is the prospect of this poor play continuing into the Champions League campaign, something PSG must avoid at all costs if they are to stand any chance of winning a third successive European title.

So what has gone wrong for PSG this season so far? Well, it’s fair to say first of all that luck hasn’t been on their side: every conceivable metric has seen them dominate all three games they’ve played so far in the league, in fact their expected goal underperformance – both in attack and in defence, will be a source of encouragement: surely the numbers will soon even out. PSG have outshot their opponents by 60 to 22 this season so far, with the Monaco game being particularly dominant despite PSG’s defeat.

A number of importance chances have been missed, with none of PSG’s attackers looking particularly sharp in front of goal: Ousmane Dembélé has looked a shadow of the player who has dominated Europe over the last two years, with his wayward finishing at times reminiscent of the Dembélé who flattered to deceive all of those years at Barcelona.

PSG’s defence has also been unimpressive, and has looked particularly vulnerable on the break. None of PSG’s new signings have set the world alight either (barring Ferran Torres’s brace in the Rennes game, the Spaniard has not been as good in his other appearances), with Maghnes Akliouche in particular looking like he is some way off the pace. Established stars like Desiré Doué have also seemed a bit leggy, perhaps tired off the back of two long campaigns and two successive summer tournaments.

Overall, PSG fans can rest assured that the underlying numbers suggest that this form is little more than a blip, although it’s true that the individual performances from some of their squad have not always been as impressive as they’ll have grown accustomed to. PSG will look to amend this in their next game against Slovan Bratislava.

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