The Japan Times - PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles'

EUR -
AED 4.048396
AFN 71.653352
ALL 90.750248
AMD 397.442801
ANG 1.973656
AOA 1011.960474
ARS 1704.382464
AUD 1.618965
AWG 1.984235
AZN 1.878376
BAM 1.951036
BBD 2.220877
BDT 137.480376
BGN 1.95499
BHD 0.417001
BIF 3319.209083
BMD 1.102353
BND 1.423304
BOB 12.873388
BRL 6.246268
BSD 1.102607
BTN 104.113285
BWP 15.450042
BYN 3.311509
BYR 21606.119128
BZD 2.223106
CAD 1.573113
CDF 2551.947633
CHF 0.923202
CLF 0.028075
CLP 1104.973024
CNY 7.354624
CNH 7.359975
COP 3659.778945
CRC 495.301355
CUC 1.102353
CUP 26.528073
CVE 110.401089
CZK 24.405329
DJF 196.830539
DKK 7.476493
DOP 67.240184
DZD 151.259414
EGP 58.978161
ERN 16.535295
ETB 181.421296
FJD 2.507137
FKP 0.834359
GBP 0.833065
GEL 2.855525
GGP 0.834359
GHS 12.925133
GIP 0.834359
GMD 81.574515
GNF 9793.0268
GTQ 8.429301
GYD 230.683524
HKD 8.648736
HNL 29.723081
HRK 7.531237
HTG 144.950397
HUF 364.882711
IDR 20101.848202
ILS 3.545943
IMP 0.834359
INR 103.891816
IQD 1675.704586
IRR 2109614.310597
ISK 136.615035
JEP 0.834359
JMD 174.650478
JOD 0.781612
JPY 176.084403
KES 143.361434
KGS 96.384792
KHR 4497.600695
KMF 492.752185
KPW 992.118101
KRW 1471.994453
KWD 0.34335
KYD 0.921103
KZT 492.691348
LAK 24881.068091
LBP 98983.270882
LKR 367.641006
LRD 187.910514
LSL 18.686451
LTL 3.254962
LVL 0.666803
LYD 7.125019
MAD 10.95393
MDL 20.078055
MGA 5022.013743
MKD 61.545168
MMK 2315.243938
MNT 3974.71339
MOP 8.933124
MRU 44.703122
MUR 52.494468
MVR 16.980358
MWK 1916.705245
MXN 20.433771
MYR 4.504329
MZN 70.444469
NAD 18.686451
NGN 1481.088858
NIO 40.680111
NOK 10.552253
NPR 166.581456
NZD 1.994668
OMR 0.424511
PAB 1.102607
PEN 3.76101
PGK 5.044014
PHP 70.506912
PKR 305.654336
PLN 4.405592
PYG 6843.288459
QAR 4.01725
RON 5.348511
RSD 117.465677
RUB 91.30685
RWF 1635.304475
SAR 4.217282
SBD 8.926521
SCR 15.295042
SDG 663.069392
SEK 11.106249
SGD 1.419063
SHP 0.830054
SLE 25.409646
SLL 23115.795624
SOS 631.701729
SRD 41.327623
STD 22816.481805
STN 24.500067
SVC 9.672026
SYP 14332.794295
SZL 18.681051
THB 37.34225
TJS 10.196728
TMT 3.858236
TND 3.316433
TOP 2.654202
TRY 55.485621
TTD 7.503021
TWD 36.257938
TZS 2926.90801
UAH 50.255138
UGX 4553.879273
USD 1.102353
UYU 44.690863
UZS 13292.036376
VES 1006.315196
VND 28358.582532
VUV 132.635217
WST 3.098258
XAF 655.957
XAG 0.022553
XAU 0.000284217451
XCD 2.979165
XCG 1.992105
XDR 0.779421
XOF 655.957
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.762006
ZAR 18.713826
ZMK 9922.503926
ZMW 22.599062
ZWL 354.957222
SSP 6553.90889
MXV 2.294737
  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    19.81

    +0.5%

  • VOD

    -0.2500

    16.33

    -1.53%

  • CMSC

    -0.2800

    20.12

    -1.39%

  • RBGPF

    -2.0000

    65

    -3.08%

  • RIO

    -0.2500

    94.16

    -0.27%

  • BTI

    -1.2000

    54.85

    -2.19%

  • NGG

    -0.3000

    74.94

    -0.4%

  • GSK

    -0.3500

    49.35

    -0.71%

  • BCE

    -0.4200

    20.14

    -2.09%

  • CMSD

    -0.3400

    19.93

    -1.71%

  • BP

    -0.9100

    43.52

    -2.09%

  • RELX

    0.1700

    33.24

    +0.51%

  • BCC

    -0.6200

    75.97

    -0.82%

  • AZN

    -1.9400

    164.21

    -1.18%

  • JRI

    0.0000

    10.77

    0%

PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles'
PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles' / Photo: Franck FIFE - AFP/File

PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles'

Paris Saint-Germain can wrap up another Ligue 1 title this weekend and are also closing in on the first ever unbeaten season in the top flight of French football.

Text size:

PSG play host to relegation-threatened Angers on Saturday knowing a draw will be enough for them to secure their 11th French championship triumph in the last 13 years.

It is a long period of dominance which began quickly after the takeover of the club by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011.

The financial gap between PSG and the rest of France now appears unbridgeable, and Luis Enrique's team are currently a huge 21 points clear at the top of the table with seven games of the season to play.

For them to miss out on the title now, PSG would have to lose every remaining game and Monaco would have to win all of theirs and also oversee an enormous swing in goal difference.

Put simply, that is not going to happen, and the Parisians will hope to finish the job in front of their own supporters before switching their focus to their Champions League quarter-final first leg at home to Aston Villa next Wednesday.

This midweek PSG secured their place in the final of the French Cup, surviving a scare by coming from two goals down to beat Ligue 2 side Dunkerque 4-2 and set up a clash with Reims on May 24.

They have not lost any of their last 38 matches against domestic opponents across all competitions since a 3-1 defeat at home to Toulouse last May.

The likes of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, Juventus, Celtic and, just last season, Bayer Leverkusen have all gone through domestic league campaigns without losing a game in the 21st century.

In France, Nantes have come the closest, going unbeaten through their first 32 matches of the 38-game season as they took the title in 1994/95.

PSG have played 27 of 34 matches in this Ligue 1 campaign, and surely should remain unbeaten as long as they do not become distracted by the Champions League.

"We are not unbeatable, we are not invincible, we are not film heroes," insisted Luis Enrique after Tuesday's win against Dunkerque.

"We are just a football team. Perfection does not exist and we are not perfect."

Yet PSG, with the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Achraf Hakimi in outstanding form, should not need to be perfect to keep their current run going domestically.

After this weekend, three of their final six Ligue 1 matches will be against sides presently in the bottom six.

A home game against Champions League hopefuls Nice and a trip to in-form Strasbourg are the toughest remaining assignments on the domestic front.

Player to watch: Mika Biereth

The 22-year-old London-born striker, who recently made his debut for the Danish national team, has enjoyed a stunning start to life at Monaco since joining the principality club in January.

Recruited from Sturm Graz in Austria, the former Arsenal youngster has scored 12 goals in his first 10 Ligue 1 appearances, including three hat-tricks.

His strike in last week's Cote d'Azur derby against Nice left him with 11 goals from five home games with his new club, but he has just one on the road heading into this weekend's trip to Brest.

According to statisticians Opta, Biereth has scored a goal every 67 minutes since he moved to France's top flight.

Key stats

13 - Lucky for some, PSG are set to win their 13th French league title overall

32 - PSG's leading marksman Dembele has scored 32 goals this season in all competitions

5 - While PSG are 21 points clear at the top of the table, just five points separate the next six teams, from Monaco in second to Lyon in seventh

Fixtures (times GMT)

Friday

Nice v Nantes (1845)

Saturday

Paris Saint-Germain v Angers (1500), Brest v Monaco (1700), Lyon v Lille (1905)

Sunday

Lens v Saint-Etienne (1300), Reims v Strasbourg, Rennes v Auxerre, Montpellier v Le Havre (all 1515), Marseille v Toulouse (1845)

M.Matsumoto--JT