Paris Saint-Germain is in a late position, and is narrowly ahead of the relegation places in the French Football League.
Paris Saint-Germain, the Champions League champion, made a very poor start in the French League this season, and is only one point ahead of seventeenth place in the league, which includes 18 teams.
Paris Saint-Germain only got two points from three matches, and they could have gotten even less than that, as the defending champion had to come back twice from a two-goal deficit to achieve a draw, and even needed an equalizer in the final seconds of stoppage time against Lille on August 28.
But luck did not favor him in his loss at home to Monaco, with a score of 1-2, last Friday, a defeat that left the defending league champions in thirteenth place, which is an unusual position for them.
This was the fourth match in a row that PSG failed to win, including a 0-1 loss to Lens in their French Super Cup opener. In that match, Lance played the entire second half with ten players after one of his players was sent off.
Paris Saint-Germain's start to the local season was disastrous; It did not achieve any victory, suffered two defeats, tied twice, and conceded seven goals.
An unexpected start for a team that defeated the best teams in Europe in the past two seasons, and presented a wonderful offensive performance, the best in years.
After the defeat against Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain's coach, Luis Enrique, remained steadfast in his position, stressing that his team deserved to win by a large margin. He also downplayed Paris Saint-Germain's seven-point deficit behind leaders Monaco.
He said: “If you want to bet on the champion of the season, we are ready to bet. Seven points? “Well, we will strive to rectify this situation as soon as possible.”
But Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves admitted that the team was not performing at its best, and Brazilian Filipe Luis, Monaco's new coach, confirmed the same thing.
Filipe Luis said: “Paris Saint-Germain is not at its best. We tried to put pressure on them in their front areas.”
Luis Enrique expressed his happiness with the summer transfer period, and thanked his club president, the Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Ferran Torres, the World Cup champion with Spain, the French winger Magnes Aclioch, and the promising Belgian player Mika Godets, joined Paris Saint-Germain.
Paris Saint-Germain will host the Slovakian team Slovan Bratislava, on Wednesday, in the Champions League, and it is in desperate need of a victory that will raise its morale.
The sheer joy of pulling off a clever trick that changes the outcome of a football match from the highest detail will continue to capture the attention of the fans. Therefore; It was natural for Kai Havertz's quick wit, when he cleverly let the ball pass to create the winning goal for Martin Odegaard in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Chelsea, on Sunday, to receive more attention than his personal goal in the first half, which he scored from the edge of the penalty area to equalize 1-1.
According to “The Athletic” network, the German striker’s goal was in fact the culmination of his continuous efforts to create a numerical increase on the right front for Arsenal, something that played a very important role in the team’s exit with the three points.
This type of movement is not new to Havertz, who has been accustomed to doing it during the past seasons, and he continued to appear constantly in the spaces on the right side during the first weeks of the 2026-2027 season.
Even if Chelsea, led by its coach Xabi Alonso, was aware of the danger that these moves presented to its rival, it was unable to stop them. Because of the precise timing of Havertz's movements, and the great understanding between him and the rest of Arsenal's elements on the right front.
In one example, during the first minutes of the match, Havertz was positioned between Maxence Lacroix, who is at the heart of Chelsea's back three, and left centre-back Wesley Fofana, while Riccardo Calafiore moved across from the left-back position, attacking the space between the opponent's lines. Havertz was aware that Fofana had to monitor Calafiore's movement, so he raced in behind him as soon as Ezri Konsa passed the ball to Ben White. The timing of Havertz's move was perfect; He was allowed to enter this space before Lacroix could move across it to cover it. White succeeded in delivering the ball to his team's striker, and the attack ended with Arsenal receiving a dangerous free kick. It is also important to note that Havertz's run created the space that Calafiore attacked before he was brought down.
In another example, Havertz moved to the touchline, while Bukayo Saka moved deeper, forcing Fofana and left-back Uriel Hato to swap positions.
As Arsenal rotated the ball until it reached Calafiore, Havertz returned to moving inside, but this time he positioned himself on the side that Fofana could not see. When Hato noticed Calafiore's pass heading towards Havertz, he rushed to try to intercept the ball. Meanwhile, Saka attacked the space vacated by the Dutchman. Hato actually came close to regaining possession, but Havertz's touch during his fall helped Odegaard pass the ball to Saka on his way towards the goal, so the English winger could shoot the ball between the posts.
The constant wandering of Havertz down Arsenal's right front was a means of manipulating the left side of Chelsea's defence, and also caused confusion for Fofana and Hato.
Before the equalizer, which he scored in the 25th minute, Havertz rushed into the space behind Hato, while Declan Rice sent the ball to the right flank towards Saka. When Saka returned the ball to White, Havertz maintained his position, while Fofana seemed to hesitate between pursuing the Arsenal striker and returning to his defensive area.
Chelsea's left center back only moved about two steps deep, but the speed of Arsenal's build-up of the attack surprised him. White passed the ball to Rice, who played it with one touch towards Havertz, while the German made a small, smart jump to the left to ensure he remained in a safe position away from offside. Havertz then dribbled past Fofana on the edge of the penalty area, before slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
The danger of Havertz's movements towards the right front lies not only in the exchanges he makes with Saka, Odegaard and White, but also in his ability to attack the defensive line from an angle that is difficult to deal with, when Arsenal moves the ball back inside. This puts the opponents in front of a dilemma: the defender cannot monitor the ball and Havertz at the same time, and he also finds himself hesitating between tracking the German striker and returning to defending his area, especially when Arsenal attacks the central spaces.
In the second half, Havertz's movements continued to create spaces for his teammates, led by Saka. In one of the attacks, Havertz started from a central position, before moving to the right to exchange the ball with the English winger. Havertz's move attracted Romeo Lavia, and with Chelsea's other midfielder, Reece James, moving away from the midfield, an empty space appeared in front of the penalty area. Havertz then played a double pass with Saka, who rushed into that space, but the winger's shot at the end of the attack collided with Lacroix.
In another example, Havertz initially positioned himself between Lacroix and Fofana, before retreating to the area in front of the latter, giving Odegaard an additional option to pass. Saka read the move, running into the space behind Fofana, who was advancing towards the Arsenal striker. Odegaard then sent his pass to Havertz, who cleverly handled the ball through Fofana's legs to reach Saka, but the latter's curling shot was blocked by Emiliano Martinez.
When Mikel Arteta was asked last season about what his team missed during Havertz’s absence due to injury, the Arsenal coach pointed to his ability to occupy more than one position, and the threat he creates from different positions, explaining that Havertz is “a unique player in the spaces he can occupy, and the way he gets along with all the players.”
These two features in particular represent the essence of the strength of Havertz's movements towards the right front. They give this side of Arsenal's attack more strength and danger, which was clearly demonstrated in the victory over Chelsea.
Certainly, the wonderful trick that Havertz executed in the winning goal deserves to be the most beautiful touch that takes center stage, but there is another kind of footballing beauty in his continuous movements to the right, and in the way he can, without touching the ball sometimes, completely reshape the opponent’s defense.
