2008–09 Paris Saint-Germain F.C. season

AS Monaco made a winning start against Paris Saint-Germain's expensively-assembled team with a late goal.[36] Guillaume Hoarau scored his first Paris Saint-Germain goal as the capital outfit condemned last season's runners-up Bordeaux to their first defeat of the season at the Parc des Princes.[37] Sochaux got their first point of the season with a hard-earned draw at home to PSG.[38] Paris Saint-Germain made it three games without defeat as their improvement under Paul Le Guen continued with another Guillaume Hoarau goal earning them a narrow win at Caen.[39] Paris Saint-Germain took an early lead from the spot through new signing Mateja Kežman and held out for the 90 minutes to take all three points at home to Nantes.[40] Saint-Étienne picked up their first win in four matches as they beat Paris Saint-Germain.[41] Nassim Akrour's third goal of the season gave promoted Grenoble an historic win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.[42] Paris Saint-Germain's poor recent run continued as they let slip an early lead to take only a point from Nancy.[43] Paris Saint-Germain staged a come-from-behind win at home to Lorient with a late goal from substitute Loris Arnaud.[44] Goals abounded as Paris Saint-Germain handed Marseille its first league defeat of the season, outscoring their arch-rivals four goals to two and denying them top spot on the table in a thrilling 'clasico' at the Stade Vélodrome.[45] A bizarre own-goal from Zoumana Camara condemned Paris Saint-Germain to defeat at home to Toulouse.[46] Paris Saint-Germain coach Paul Le Guen blasted his players for being too soft at half-time of their clash away to Nice, but despite an improved second-half display, the capital club fell to a second consecutive loss.[47] Ludovic Giuly's first goal for Paris Saint-Germain was enough to earn all three against a resistant, if largely uninspired, Lille who saw their nine-game unbeaten run brought to an end at the Parc des Princes.[48]

Paris Saint-Germain were too strong for Le Havre and took the points with goals from Guillaume Hoarau and Ludovic Giuly.[49] Ludovic Giuly struck for the third time in as many games to give Paris Saint-Germain a narrow win over Lyon in the capital as the leaders' cushion at the top was reduced to five points.[50] Rennes moved up to second in Ligue 1 after Bruno Cheyrou's first-half goal proved enough to give Guy Lacombe's side a narrow win over Paris Saint-German.[51] A first half double from Ligue 1's leading scorer Guillaume Hoarau set the stage for Paris's win, their fifth in their last six matches, over Le Mans at the Parc des Princes.[52] Stéphane Sessègnon struck twice against Auxerre to lift PSG into third as Paul Le Guen's men registered a fifth league win in six outings.[53] In the race for second place behind autumn champions Lyon, Paris failed to keep the pace drawing at home to Valenciennes.[54] Laurent Blanc's Bordeaux thumped four unanswered goals past Paris to go within one point of top spot on the table, giving faltering champions Lyon serious cause for concern in the race for the title.[55] PSG made it six wins from their last nine matches when they beat a tough Sochaux outfit at the Parc des Princes.[56] Guillaume Hoarau grabbed his 13th goal of the season as Paris Saint-Germain moved up to third in the table thanks to their win over Caen.[57] Paris Saint-Germain closed to within a point of Ligue 1 leaders Lyon thanks to an emphatic victory over Nantes.[58] Paris Saint-Germain registered their fourth Ligue 1 victory in a row against Saint-Étienne to move outright second in the standings, one point behind Lyon, ahead of the champions match at home to Le Havre.[59] Paris Saint Germain remained second, but lost ground after they were held to a goalless draw at Grenoble.[60] Paul Le Guen's men made it three wins in four matches as they completely dominated a tentative Nancy outfit to consolidate second place on the L1 table.[61] A superb first-half strike from Ludovic Giuly and a Mickaël Landreau penalty save were enough to give Paris Saint-Germain a narrow win at Lorient and ease Paul Le Guen's side within a point of leaders Lyon.[62]

Marseille are up to second in Ligue 1 after they emerged victorious over a ten-man Paris Saint-Germain in the 'classico'.[63] Toulouse continued their string of strong results with a comprehensive win at home to Paris, their tenth victory in 14 matches in all competitions in 2009, to climb back to fourth place on the Ligue 1 table.[64] Paris Saint-Germain beat Nice at the Parc des Princes to maintain their title challenge.[65] Lille's goalless draw with visiting Paris was a case of two points dropped against an uninspired opposition and did little to help either side's fortunes, with both clubs leapfrogged by Toulouse, winners over Nantes.[66] Paris Saint-German moved into fourth place as the club from the capital eased past bottom side Le Havre.[67] Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain raised the curtain on a decisive weekend of football with a heart-stopping draw at the Stade Gerland which, in the end, suited neither side.[68] Paris Saint-Germain missed out on the chance to go above Lyon into third as they were narrowly beaten by Rennes.[69] Mateja Kezman's second league goal of the season gave Paris Saint-Germain a narrow win at Le Mans to keep them in contention for a top-three finish.[70] Paris saw their chances of overtaking Lyon into third place and a Champions League qualifying spot dealt a blow as they succumbed to in-form Auxerre at the Parc des Princes.[71] PSG's ambitions of European football were in the balance after they saw a stubborn Valenciennes side come from behind at the Stade Nungesser.[72] Paris needed to win at home to Monaco to clinch fourth or fifth and a place in Europe next season, but a tepid display from Paul Le Guen's men in a goalless draw left them empty-handed after being tipped as potential title contenders throughout the season.[73]

Paris Saint-Germain entered the French Cup having last won the cup in 2006 and having reached last season's Final, narrowly losing to Olympique Lyonnais in a highly contested match. PSG started from the round of 64, as all Ligue 1 clubs did. The draw for the last-64 of the French Cup saw Paris Saint-Germain paired with CFA club Montluçon.[74] Paris Saint-Germain squeezed through to the last-32 of the French Cup, but failed to impress against fourth division outfit, Montluçon. Paul Le Guen's side had Stéphane Sessègnon to thank for the only goal of the game.[75] The draw for the last-32 pitted "Les Parisiens" with fourth tier side Gazélec Ajaccio.[76] Paris Saint-Germain beat lower league opposition to progress to the last 16 of the French Cup. Mateja Kežman struck twice for PSG as they beat Gazélec Ajaccio. The Serbian striker scored once in either half before defender Sammy Traoré helped secure Paul Le Guen's men a place in the next round.[77] Last season's losing finalists PSG were drawn away to third tier club Rodez for the last-16.[78] Paris Saint-Germain were sensationally knocked out of the French Cup, succumbing to a defeat after extra-time to lowly Rodez.[79]

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
2009
4 January	Round of 64	Montluçon	A	0 – 1	Sessègnon 52'	8,000	Thierry Auriac
25 January	Round of 32	Gazélec Ajaccio	A	0 – 3	Kežman 25, 60', Traoré 67'	4,000	Stéphane Bré
4 March	Round of 16	Rodez	A	3 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Traoré 9'	7,000	Damien Ledentu

Holders Paris Saint-Germain were through to the last-16 of the League Cup after Fabrice Pancrate's goal proved enough for the reigning champions to beat AS Monaco.[80] Paris Saint-Germain's defence of the League Cup continued against Nancy after the draw for the last-16, quarter-finals and semi-finals was made.[81] Péguy Luyindula scored both goals in Paris Saint-Germain's victory over Nancy to send the holders through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup.[82] In a dramatic twist of fate, Paris Saint-Germain hosted Lens in the pick of the quarter-final draw.[83] In a remake of last season's Final, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Lens at the Parc des Princes to qualify for the semi-finals of the League Cup, where they met Bordeaux, winners over Châteauroux.[84] Late goals from Souleymane Diawara and Wendel added to David Bellion's first-half strike put the icing on the cake as Bordeaux cruised past Paris Saint-Germain in the League Cup semi-final at the Parc des Princes.[85]

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
2008
24 September	Third Round	AS Monaco	A	0 – 1	Pancrate 34'	5,581	Philippe Kalt
12 November	Round of 16	Nancy	H	2 – 0	Luyindula 30, 36'	15,856	Stéphane Bré
2009
14 January	Quarter-finals	Lens	H	2 – 0	Keita 14' (o.g.), Clément 90+3'	32,093	Fredy Fautrel
4 February	Semi-finals	Bordeaux	H	0 – 3		40,543	Saïd Ennjimi

Paris Saint-Germain entered the UEFA Cup at the first round, 18 months after their last European clash against Benfica on 15 March 2007. Sitting in third place on the Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain were taking on Turkish club Kayserispor, unbeaten in the Süper Lig. The hosts, however, lost their unbeaten record in the final minute thanks to Péguy Luyindula goal, just a few minutes after the Turkish side had equalized through Delio Toledo.[86] Paris Saint-Germain qualified to the group stage at Kayserispor's expense in a scoreless match at the Parc des Princes.[87] The capital club was inserted into Group A with German club Schalke 04, English side Manchester City, Spanish outfit Racing de Santander, and Dutch club Twente.[88] Despite his faith in young players, Paul Le Guen's men were overwhelmed by the better organized and more experienced Germans, who were quickly firming as Group A favourites. Schalke went ahead early through Larrys Mabiala's own goal before Kevin Kurányi added to their tally, followed by Halil Altıntop. Clément Chantôme's far-post strike in stoppage time came too late in a game where Paris Saint-Germain struggled to find their rhythm as Schalke pushed forward relentlessly at the Veltins-Arena.[89] Paris Saint-Germain blew a two-goal lead as Spanish side Racing Santander held the capital club to a draw at the Parc des Princes.[90]

Paris Saint-Germain rued the missed opportunities in the second half of their goalless draw with Manchester City but still had a chance of qualifying for the next round.[91] Paris Saint-Germain qualified to the last-32 after a dramatic victory over Twente at the Parc des Princes. Late goals from Mateja Kežman and Péguy Luyindula saw PSG clinch third spot in Group A ahead of Racing Santander on goal difference.[92] Paris Saint-Germain reached the last-32 and received a tough draw being given Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. Giant striker Guillaume Hoarau marked his return by scoring two late goals as the side from the French capital finished over the top of German outfit Wolfsburg.[93] Paris Saint-Germain walloped Wolfsburg in Germany for a convincing aggregate victory in the last-32. Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau made a number of good saves to deny before Péguy Luyindula put an end to Wolfsburg's hopes of a fightback by netting a penalty. Jérôme Rothen doubled the lead on the hour with a terrific strike. Wolfsburg's Japanese star Makoto Hasebe reduced the arrears with a fine solo goal three minutes later, but Luyindula netted his sixth goal of the competition with a header from Clément Chantôme's cross. Paris Saint-Germain, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winners, marched into the last-16 where they faced Portuguese side Sporting Braga.[94]

Paris Saint-Germain's European campaign was in the balance after they failed to break down a stubborn Braga side at the Parc des Princes. Jérôme Rothen came closest when he struck an upright in the second-half, which saw Mateja Kežman jeered onto the pitch by the PSG fans as he made his first appearance at the Parc since his infamous shirt-throwing incident during his side's League Cup semi-final defeat to Bordeaux last month.[95] Guillaume Hoarau came off the bench to score the only goal of the game to give Paris Saint-Germain a win over Braga and see them join Marseille in the quarter-finals.[96] The capital club was pitted against Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv and fared little better than Marseille as they were held goalless at the Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain found their ambitions frustrated by a well-organised Dynamo side.[97] A disastrous display by Mickaël Landreau saw Paris Saint-Germain tumble out. PSG travelled to Ukraine with hope, but were on the back foot throughout after Ismaël Bangoura had given Dynamo a fourth-minute lead. Péguy Luyindula struck a post with a header soon after, but Mickaël Landreau's poor goalkeeping put an end to PSG's European ambitions. He inadvertently punched a high ball into his own goal, before fumbling an Oleksandr Aliyev free-kick on the hour mark that allowed Ognjen Vukojević to score a third.[98]

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
2008
18 September	First Round	Kayserispor	A	1 – 2	Kežman 5', Luyindula 89'	25,000	Kevin Blom
2 October	First Round	Kayserispor	H	0 – 0		30,000	Jonas Eriksson
23 October	Group Stage	Schalke 04	A	3 – 1	Chantôme 90+2'	48,919	Gianluca Rocchi
27 November	Group Stage	Racing de Santander	H	2 – 2	Kežman 5', Luyindula 32'	25,000	Pavel Královec
3 December	Group Stage	Manchester City	A	0 – 0		25,626	Bruno Duarte
18 December	Group Stage	Twente	H	4 – 0	Luyindula 8, 86', Sessègnon 23', Kežman 84'	30,000	Iain Brines
2009
18 February	Round of 32	Wolfsburg	H	2 – 0	Hoarau 80, 83'	27,447	Svein Oddvar Moen
26 February	Round of 32	Wolfsburg	A	1 – 3	Luyindula 38' (pen.), 73', Rothen 60'	20,205	Vladimír Hriňák
12 March	Round of 16	Sporting Braga	H	0 – 0		35,000	Matteo Trefoloni
19 March	Round of 16	Sporting Braga	A	0 – 1	Hoarau 81'	16,371	Craig Thomson
9 April	Quarter-finals	Dynamo Kyiv	H	0 – 0		41,000	Nicola Rizzoli
19 March	Quarter-finals	Dynamo Kyiv	A	3 – 0		16,300	Frank De Bleeckere