Paris Saint-Germain brought the memory of their 2025 Club World Cup final defeat into a major early-season European test, producing a response against Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City after 458 days had passed since Chelsea denied Luis Enrique’s side a historic seven-trophy sweep.
A final defeat still shaping PSG
Luis Enrique’s PSG had seldom been so comprehensively outplayed as they were in the Club World Cup final of 2025. Chelsea’s victory that night prevented the Paris club from completing an unprecedented septet, leaving a rare blemish on a campaign defined by silverware.
The meeting with Maresca offered PSG a chance to answer that disappointment in a setting carrying Champions League-level significance. It was their first truly demanding examination of the new season, and they treated it as an opportunity to settle an old score.
Maresca’s City arrive in winning form
- Enzo Maresca was in charge of Manchester City for the contest.
- City had won every match since their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal.
- Pep Guardiola watched from the stands as PSG faced his former club’s new manager.
- The Paris side used the occasion to deliver their own form of revenge for the 2025 final.
A European test with wider consequences
The result mattered beyond one night. PSG entered the season carrying the weight of a final in which Chelsea had exposed them, while City arrived with momentum built after their setback against Arsenal. With Guardiola present, the match also placed Maresca’s new project under an especially sharp spotlight.
For PSG, it was a reminder that the Club World Cup disappointment has not faded. Four hundred and fifty-eight days on, Luis Enrique’s team found a way to turn that frustration into a statement against the manager associated with the side that had stopped their pursuit of a unique seven-trophy haul.
