By Tim Stannard
A player that time and PSG forgot could be the main man for PSG against Lens and in Le Classique
A quick glance at the 2020-21 Ligue 1 standings suggests that PSG is in CRISIS. This is despite coming rather close to the winning the Champions League a few short weeks ago.
PSG is lodged in 14th place in the table. Not good. However, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for such a lowly position. Thomas Tuchel's side hasn't played any games yet - but PSG is still in a higher spot than Dijon who has racked up two matches and two defeats.
A 195-day absence from Ligue 1 ends today with PSG in focus in a clash against Lens. This late start to the party was due to the club's appearance in the Champions League final and then a request for a bit of a break for players to go to Ibiza. Which did not go well for some. Allegedly.
But despite this downtime, not everyone at PSG is ready to come back. Seven first-teamers are sidelined - Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Marquinhos, Keylor Navas, Angel di Maria, Mauro Icardi and Leandro Paredes.
Mbappe's absence has been confirmed as due to a positive test for COVID-19. The other six have not been officially reported as being in the same situation, but the inference from Tuchel on Wednesday was clear.
Le groupe parisien pour affronter le @RCLens ! 🗒️⚽️
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) September 10, 2020
🏟️ #RCLPSG
🔴🔵 #AllezParis
"We are looking to find solutions. The situation is more complicated with seven players affected by COVID-19, but we have confidence," admitted the PSG coach, who gave the good news that "I don't want to say too much, but the players who tested positive feel better."
So this leaves a very different-looking PSG squad traveling north to take on the newly-promoted Lens.
But out of a list of some unfamiliar names there is a soccer legend, that many had forgotten was still at PSG. PSG had probably forgotten that he was still at PSG considering the former Real Madrid forward has had four loan spells away from Paris since joining in 2016.
Reggaeton king, Jese Rodriguez, could be leading the line for PSG in today's season opener. And if that goes well, then the Spaniard could be featuring in Sunday's Le Classique against Marseilles.
2020 has been a weird year to say the least. It's about to get weirder...but very watchable.
Lens vs PSG is live, live, live on beIN SPORTS from 2:50PM ET.
LaLiga's restart put back as Messi continues couples therapy with Barca
The restart of LaLiga is just one day away!
Scratch that.
The restart of LaLiga is just two days away!
Late on Wednesday night, Spanish soccer bosses opted to move Friday's planned opener between Granada against Athletic Club to Saturday and then move Monday's match-up between Alaves and Betis to Sunday.
Rather than being a fun means to annoy and confuse everyone involved in the game, the move was demanded by the Spanish Soccer Federation who disapprove of matches being played on a Friday and a Monday.
So, LaLiga returns Saturday morning instead with Eibar hosting Celta Vigo in a game that is live, live, live on beIN SPORTS Espanol at 10AM ET.
Real Madrid and Barcelona will be sitting out the opening weekend along with Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Getafe and Elche due to either prolonged European or playoff commitments but that doesn't mean that these teams are not making waves.
Madrid's bosses are reportedly upset at Eden Hazard going on Belgium duty in the Nations League and then not seeing action. They are also reportedly upset at Gareth Bale as well, but that's a default situation.
Barcelona and Lionel Messi are continuing their couples therapy sessions. Messi was out training on Thursday in what was supposedly a day off for the players.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid is looking at shoring up matters in the striking department by bringing in either Alexandre Lacazette from Arsenal, or Raul de Tomas from Espanyol. Sports Burst has a suspicion of what the first choice is for the Rojiblancos.
The Sports Burst live show will bring all the latest news from LaLiga and preview the season to come for Real Betis. Tune into our beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page or XTRA channel at 12PM ET.
Serena Williams eyes third US Open final in a row
Thursday sees the possibility of an all-American final being set up in the women's bracket of the US Open in Flushing Meadows, however a repeat of the 2018 final looks a little more likely.
28th seed, Jennifer Brady is taking on 2018 US Open winner, Naomi Osaka in the day's first semifinal clash. Serena Williams will be up next against Victoria Azarenka to potentially set up a third US Open final appearance in three years.
Serena Williams. Victoria Azarenka. US Open semifinal
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2020
Get hype.@serenawilliams I @vika7 pic.twitter.com/MLwNhKhJ5j
The previous two did not exactly end that well for the tennis legend with shock defeats to Osaka and Bianca Andreescu.
Just one game on the roster for Wednesday in the NBA playoffs with the Lakers looking to take a 3-1 series lead against the Houston Rockets.
