PSG face Red Star Belgrade at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, Oct. 3. Here’s all the info you need to watch.
PSG continued their record-breaking domestic start to the season with an eighth consecutive league win at the weekend, which already leaves them eight points clear at the top of the table in France. However, they’ve yet to play a team of note — even by Ligue 1 standards — and given that the Paris club’s financial resources are so superior to those of their opponents, PSG’s domestic form isn’t so remarkable. What was remarkable, though, was the failure of PSG’s forward players, especially Neymar, to track back when out of possession throughout their Champions League opener against Liverpool. During his time in Germany, Thomas Tuchel showed himself to be a manager who’s very fond of control, and quite how he’ll deal with such behavior from his players in the long-term remains to be seen. Dani Alves is injured and Gianluigi Buffon is still suspended after being red-carded in this competition for Juventus last season, but the sublime Marco Verratti is fit again following a six-month absence due to an abductor injury.
Although their current circumstances couldn’t be more contrasting, Red Star Belgrade actually have a finer European pedigree than PSG. They won this tournament in 1991 with a team led by Robert Prosinecki and European Golden Boot winner Darko Pancev, and made it into the last eight on seven other occasions prior to the competition being renamed the Champions League in 1992. Since then, though, Red Star have gone out in the qualifying rounds six times, so this is the first time they’ve even made into the tournament proper. Indeed, it’s only the third appearance by a Serbian team in the group stages and the first since Red Star’s bitter rivals Partizan in 2010-11, and no Serbian side has ever made it any further. The best-known player in the present Red Star squad is probably ex-Germany international Marko Marin, who was hugely hyped as a youngster but then faded into obscurity after signing for Chelsea in 2012.
The Champions League match between PSG and Red Star Belgrade will be broadcast live on Bleacher Report. Live streaming is available on B/R Live, which you can access with your cable or satellite subscriptions, either online or through the Bleacher Report app.
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 3
Start time: 12:55 p.m. ET
Location: Paris, France
Stadium: Parc des Princes
TV Info: Bleacher Report
Live Stream: B/R Live | Fubo.TV. Sign up for a free seven-day trial here
PSG are perhaps Europe’s most infamous flat-track bullies, so it’s very hard to see Red Star emerging with any points from this game, although most neutrals will be hoping that they do.