Paris Saint-Germain set their eyes on a second trophy against RC Lens

PSG could win their second trophy in a week on Sunday, as they are set to face Lens in the Trophée des Champions final. They beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Wednesday in what was a hard fought game, in which Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desiré Doué made the difference, both scoring fine goals.

PSG eyeing second trophy of the season against Lens

PSG now look forwards to facing last season’s Ligue Un runners up Lens, who actually won the French Cup for the first time in their history, hence their inclusion in what is the French equivalent of the English Community Shield. Lens manager Pierre Sage, who had such tremendous success last season, has left the club to join English Premier League side Crystal Palace, and has been replaced at the Calais side by German coach Dino Toppmöller, who previously managed Frankfurt.

Lens have also sold one of their key players, Mamadou Sangaré, who had been hailed as one of the best talents in the French league, to English side Brentford, for nearly €50 million. Losing their manager and their best player will mean that Lens go into Sunday’s game as something of an unknown prospect, although they have been impressive in pre-season friendlies, beating Crystal Palace and Villarreal in two of their warm-up games.

Lens were by far the side last season who posed the most threat to PSG’s increasingly hegemonic stronghold on the Ligue Un title, keeping pace with the Parisians until quite late in the League season, and therefore should provide an interesting test for Luis Enrique’s side in Sunday’s final, which will be played at Lens’s home stadium.

It is as of yet uncertain exactly to what extent Luis Enrique will rotate in Sunday’s game, as players are still returning to full fitness after the post World Cup summer break. PSG, despite not having played many friendlies before Wednesday’s game against Aston Villa, looked relatively sharp in the UEFA Super Cup game, with match fitness levels perhaps seeming above what could have been expected, especially considering the slow starts Luis Enrique’s men have often made to seasons over the last few years.

PSG have won the Trophée des Champions a record 14 times, including the last four editions in a row, and have won 12 of the last 13 titles, with the only exception being in 2021, when they lost to Lille. Marquinhos will be looking to extend his record as the player who has won the trophy the most times, having appeared in ten of PSG’s 11 title wins, and could win his 41st trophy with PSG, something that would extend his new record (held since Wednesday’s victory) as the player who has won the most trophies with a single club in the history of football, a truly remarkable record.

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