Enrique defends Chevalier but…

After the stunning cup defeat from city rivals Paris FC, PSG were defeated in Lisbon against Sporting in the Champions League. Equally surprising defeat has complicated PSG’s road to the Top 8 and direct qualifications and a win against Newcastle in Paris in the last round is now a must. But that defeat also brought up another issue (again) – Lucas Chevalier. The former Lille keeper was signed in June 2025 as Luis Enrique’s wish. And the Spanish manager is happy with him, but his inconsistency has become a problem even for his protegee. Chevalier has come under criticism as one of the main culprits for the loss at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in the Champions League.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, was let go and joined Manchester City just so Chevelier, seen as the future number 1 in Paris could come. So far, the Frenchman has not justified the trust placed in him. A change between the posts might already have happened, but Russian goalkeeper Safonov is injured (he broke his hand last month). Enrique had no choice but to defend the keeper ahead of tonight’s game with Auxerre.

“Every time you sign a player, whatever he does he will be criticized in his first season. That happened with Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and many others. We signed three players last June. Criticism is normal. When you come to a team of this level, it is expected. You have to know how to deal with it. I’m satisfied with what I’ve seen from them so far” said the coach of the Parisians.

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But the truth is, Chevalier is not the comfortable first-choice keeper. Le Parisien also wrote about this and claimed that only Saforov’s injury keeps Lucas on the pitch. He's too inconsistent to be reliable. Chevalier's performances are fueling a debate that his coach did everything to avoid at the beginning of the season by establishing him and pushing away any competition. I think the situation has changed. But Safonov will still be out for another two or three weeks, so Chevalier has a couple of games more to try to compose himself and regains trust with Enrique.

LIGUE 1 - MATCHDAY 19

Friday

22.00: (11.0) Auxerre (6.00) PSG (1.30)

Saturday

19.00: (1.83) Rennes (3.70) Lorient (4.80)

21.00: (3.50) Le Havre (3.75) Monaco (2.10)

23.05: (2.10) Olympique Marseille (3.60) Lens (3.60)

Sunday

17.00: (3.05) Nantes (3.50) Nice (2.45)

19.15: (2.85) Brest (3.00) Toulouse (2.75)

19.15: (4.75) Metz (3.80) Olympique Lyon (1.73)

19.15: (1.87) Paris (3.60) Angers (4.60)

22.45: (2.05) Lille (3.60) Strasbourg (3.90)

***odds are subject to change***