The PSG Monaco defeat has raised early questions about the defending champions after Luis Enrique’s side extended their winless start to the new Ligue 1 season.
Category: International Football | Opinion
Published: September 5, 2026
By Abiodun Adewale Adeniyi | Founder & Editor, Beyond the Final Whistle
September 5, 2026 | Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain are used to setting the standard in French football. Three matches into the new Ligue 1 season, however, the defending champions are still searching for their first victory.
PSG suffered a 2–1 home defeat to Monaco at the Parc des Princes on Friday. Marquinhos put Luis Enrique’s team ahead, but second-half goals from Nazinho and Stanis Idumbo completed Monaco’s comeback.
The result leaves PSG without a victory from their opening three league matches, while Monaco have made a perfect start with three wins.
For a PSG side that has dominated domestically and conquered Europe under Luis Enrique, this is an unexpected beginning.
So what is going wrong with the champions?
1. PSG Are Spending Too Much Time Chasing Games
The Monaco defeat was not an isolated poor result.
PSG began the season with a 2–2 draw against Rennes, recovering after going two goals behind. Their second match against Lille also finished 2–2, with PSG needing two stoppage-time goals to rescue another point.
Now they have lost to Monaco.
The worrying part is the pattern. PSG have repeatedly found themselves reacting to opponents instead of controlling matches from the beginning.
That is very different from the authority we have come to expect from Luis Enrique’s team.
2. The Team Hasn’t Rediscovered Its Rhythm
PSG still possess one of Europe’s strongest squads, but individual quality does not automatically produce collective football.
After the Monaco defeat, Lucas Hernandez acknowledged that changes within the squad have played a part in the team’s difficult start.
That matters because Luis Enrique’s football depends heavily on coordination.
His pressing requires players to move together. His possession game relies on quick combinations and positional understanding. When those relationships aren’t quite right, PSG can suddenly look much more vulnerable.
The champions currently appear to be searching for the rhythm that made them so difficult to play against.
3. Luis Enrique Is Searching for the Right Balance
The PSG manager has already demonstrated that nobody’s position is guaranteed.
Following the opening draw against Rennes, Enrique spoke about the need for competition within the squad and for his players to perform outside their comfort zones.
That approach should ultimately make PSG stronger.
But the early weeks of the season suggest Enrique is still working out his strongest combinations.
The challenge is finding a team capable of maintaining PSG’s attacking threat without sacrificing the midfield and defensive control that became so important to their European success.
The good news for PSG supporters is that the club clearly remains committed to him. On the same day as the Monaco defeat, PSG extended Luis Enrique’s contract until 2030, following three Ligue 1 titles and back-to-back Champions League triumphs during his tenure.
4. PSG Failed to Kill Monaco Off
Friday’s defeat was particularly frustrating because PSG actually took the lead.
Marquinhos put the champions ahead, giving them the opportunity to take control of the match.
Instead, Monaco stayed alive.
Nazinho equalised before Idumbo completed the comeback, and PSG could not find another response.
Champions are often defined by what they do after taking the lead.
PSG were excellent at turning advantages into victories during their most successful periods under Enrique. Against Monaco, they failed to do it.
That ruthlessness needs to return quickly.
5. Monaco Could Make This Title Race Interesting
We should also give Monaco credit rather than treating Friday’s result entirely as a PSG failure.
Monaco have now won all three of their opening Ligue 1 matches.
That perfect start changes the early conversation around the French title race.
PSG remain favourites because of their squad quality and recent dominance, but Monaco are already showing they may be capable of applying genuine pressure.
The longer PSG take to find their rhythm, the more confidence their rivals will gain.
And that could make Ligue 1 considerably more interesting than many expected.
Should PSG Supporters Be Worried?
Three matches are nowhere near enough to declare PSG’s season a crisis.
This is still a team led by a manager who has delivered extraordinary success in Paris.
But the warning signs are real.
PSG have conceded too easily, struggled to control games consistently and needed comebacks in their opening two matches before finally being punished by Monaco.
Luis Enrique himself admitted after the defeat that PSG need to improve “individually and collectively.”
Read Luis Enrique’s post-match reaction on PSG’s official website
The talent has not disappeared.
The challenge is restoring the collective intensity and control that made PSG champions.
Champions League Pressure Is Coming
PSG also cannot afford to spend too long solving these problems.
The Champions League is about to return, bringing a completely different level of pressure.
We recently looked at the biggest opening European fixtures in our Champions League Matchday 1 preview.
And after winning Europe’s biggest competition in consecutive seasons, PSG will enter this campaign with every opponent desperate to knock the champions off their throne.
Their domestic struggles therefore arrive at an important moment.
Final Whistle
PSG’s winless start does not mean their era of dominance is ending.
But two draws and a defeat from the opening three Ligue 1 matches represent a warning that last season’s success cannot simply be carried into a new campaign.
Luis Enrique must rediscover the balance, intensity and ruthlessness that transformed PSG into European champions. Monaco, meanwhile, have shown that they are ready to take advantage whenever the champions stumble.
The season is still young, and PSG have more than enough quality to recover.
But for the first time this campaign, France’s dominant force has been reminded that defending the throne can sometimes be harder than reaching it.
Beyond the Final Whistle, PSG’s biggest challenge may not be proving they are still champions — it may be proving they are still hungry enough to become champions all over again.
What do you think? Is PSG’s winless start simply an early-season stumble, or are Luis Enrique’s champions showing signs of a bigger problem? Share your thoughts in the comments below.