{"id":893651,"date":"2026-03-23T03:23:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T08:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/23\/champions-league-2026-ex-super-eagles-star-explains-why-psg-are-not-favourites\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T03:23:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T08:23:28","slug":"champions-league-2026-ex-super-eagles-star-explains-why-psg-are-not-favourites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/23\/champions-league-2026-ex-super-eagles-star-explains-why-psg-are-not-favourites\/","title":{"rendered":"Champions League 2026: Ex-Super Eagles star explains why PSG are not favourites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

PSG forward Ousmane Dembele. Copyright: IMAGOxIanxStephen<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Former Super Eagles<\/a> defender Godwin Okpara believes Paris Saint-Germain<\/a>, PSG, are not the favourites to win this season\u2019s UEFA Champions League<\/strong>, Soccernet.ng<\/a> reports.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former PSG star made the revelation while admitting that the French giants remain one of the strongest teams left in the competition.<\/p>\n

Speaking in an interview with the New Telegraph<\/a>, Okpara explained that PSG are still adjusting after several changes within the squad, which has affected their consistency.<\/p>\n

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\u201cParis Saint-Germain is not the same team we used to know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been changes, and they are still trying to find their balance. That makes them difficult to predict. You cannot say for sure how they will perform in every match. However, they still have quality, and in football, anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
PSG. Copyright: IMAGOxIanxStephen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Okpara also pointed out that winning the Champions League requires more than just talent. According to him, PSG will need to improve quickly if they want to defend the title they won for the first time last year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf they manage to find consistency at the right time, they could go far,\u201d he added.
\u201cBut based on their current level, it will not be easy for them to win the Champions League again. If they do, it will require a lot of effort and maybe a bit of luck.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He also suggested that the team\u2019s tactical approach could play a role in their success or failure.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe coach may also be trying different tactics to confuse opponents. Sometimes, that approach can work, especially in knockout competitions. For now, they remain one of the contenders, but not the clear favourites.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
PSG manager Luis Enrique. Copyright: IMAGOxIanxStephen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soccer Strong displays show PSG are still serious contenders<\/h2>\n

Even though Okpara has doubts, Paris Saint-Germain have shown strong form in this season\u2019s competition and are proving they should not be underestimated.<\/p>\n

The French champions reached the quarter-finals in impressive style, beating former winners Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate in the round of 16. They won the first leg 5-2 at home and followed it up with a confident 3-0 victory away at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
PSG vs Chelsea. Copyright: xREAUxALEXISxIMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before that, PSG also came through a tricky play-off tie against AS Monaco, winning 5-4 on aggregate. These results show that, even if they are not perfect, they are still very dangerous.<\/p>\n

Their performances in the league phase were mixed, finishing 11th, which forced them into the play-offs. However, they recorded some big wins along the way, including victories over top sides like Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen.<\/p>\n

Now, PSG face one of their toughest tests yet against Liverpool in the quarter-finals. The two-legged tie will be a major test of whether they have truly found the balance Okpara believes they are still searching for.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele” src=”https:\/\/media.soccernet.ng\/main\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150×150.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tA lifelong fan of Arsenal and the Super Eagles, Imhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng, where his journey as a journalist began more than six years ago. Since then, he has helped shape the platform\u2019s editorial voice and guided it toward some of its proudest milestones. <\/p>\n

With a background in Engineering and further training in journalism and digital media, Imhons brings both precision and passion to his storytelling. His love for football runs deep, but he also follows boxing, chess, and athletics with equal curiosity.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer PSG forward Ousmane Dembele. Copyright: IMAGOxIanxStephen Former Super Eagles defender Godwin Okpara believes Paris Saint-Germain, PSG, are not the favourites to win this season\u2019s UEFA Champions League, Soccernet.ng reports.\u00a0 The former PSG star made the revelation while admitting that the French giants remain one of the strongest teams left in the competition. Speaking in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":893652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1532,4702,2005],"tags":[13465,7607],"class_list":{"0":"post-893651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-champions","8":"category-league","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-champions","11":"tag-league"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}