Porto or bust for PSG

By David Baño & Jim Wirth

While their French counterparts AS Monaco FC and Olympique Lyonnais have made a relatively bright start in the UEFA Champions League this season, Paris Saint-Germain FC have endured a miserable opening with defeats by Chelsea FC and PFC CSKA Moskva.

Porto deciders
PSG now face back-to-back ties against FC Porto, with the home fixture coming on Wednesday, and know that anything other than victory in both games would probably mean a premature end to their Champions League challenge. With a season that had promised so much on the verge of ruin, it is a daunting prospect.

Great form
Vahid Halilhodzic's men had been the form team in the latter half of last season's Ligue 1 campaign. Despite a lack of cash, and more importantly a lack of Ronaldinho, who had joined FC Barcelona the previous summer, the Bosnian coach got his side playing some fearsome football.

Renewed ambition
They won the French Cup and finished as runners-up to Lyon in the title race, and with the summer signing of Monaco winger Jérôme Rothen seemingly showing renewed ambition, Parisian supporters had high expectations for the new campaign.

Sudden decline
Those hopes have been dashed remarkably quickly. While the players held crisis talks after their 3-0 home loss to Chelsea in their opening Group H fixture, results have not improved. A 1-0 weekend defeat at FC Nantes Atlantique left them in 16th place in Ligue 1, 12 points adrift of leaders Lyon.

'We're worried'
"We're worried with this start and our Champions League group is far from easy," Halilhodzic told uefa.com. "Maybe we still have a chance because we're total underdogs alongside Porto, Chelsea and CSKA. You have to say we have no chance on paper but we'll try to spring a surprise."

Format change
Last year's new format saw the end of the second group stage - an innovation which has favoured teams like PSG who lack the huge squads of the European giants. "I think it's an improvement because some players play too many games," said Halilhodzic of the new format. "Some players in big teams have far too many duties and are tired at the end of the season. It's the reason why the new format is better for footballers and for football as a spectacle.

Open contest
"The Champions League is a very prestigious competition," he added. "Almost all the best teams in Europe were in the starting lineup, but everyone has a chance to compete. You just have to seize the day. PSG are among the outsiders but we'll do our best."

French failure
Yet doing their best has proved to be a problem for PSG so far this season, and while their failure to thrive against an all-star Chelsea side or their defeat in Moscow were unsuprising, it has been their poor form in France that has proved the biggest disappointment.

'More competitive'
However, having previously coached Stade Rennais FC and LOSC Lille Métropole, the 52-year-old knows as well as anyone that Ligue 1 is not an easy competition. "I think the French league is among the best in Europe," Halilhodzic said. "Two French sides reached European finals last season - this year it is even more competitive."

PSG revival
PSG recovered from a poor start to thrive last season. However, if they are to make a decent fist of competition in France and Europe in 2004/05, it seems like the Parisian revival has to start on Wednesday night.