PSG vs Lille Live Score Updates: Neymar doubles lead, PSG 2-0 LOSC after 15 mins, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe start

Paris Saint-Germain vs Lille Live Score Updates Ligue 1 Football Match Today

Paris Saint-Germain vs Lille: The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, left, looks on before the Champions League round of 16 match between PSG and Bayern, Lionel Messi reacts during the game. (AP)

Making a rare visit to the Parc des Princes, the emir of Qatar watched first hand as Paris Saint-Germain came up short on Europe’s biggest stage once again. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was in the stands as Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and the rest of an expensively assembled team lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich on Tuesday, putting the club in danger of another early exit from the Champions League.

More than a decade of hiring and firing and splashing the cash has so far failed to deliver a coveted Champions League trophy for PSG’s Qatari owners. Amid reports that the oil and gas rich Gulf state is now planning a move for Manchester United, perhaps the emir’s patience with PSG could be close to running out. Despite all the superstar signings, a series of coaches have not managed to achieve PSG’s owners’ ultimate ambition.

When Christophe Galtier was hired last July he became the seventh coach since state-backed Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) took over the club in 2011.With its motto “Dream Bigger” splashed on the team bus, the owners had a clear ambition to make PSG one of Europe’s leading clubs. Yet PSG’s defeat to Bayern on Tuesday in the first leg of the round-of-16 in the Champions League was its third straight loss and fifth in 11 games, with Messi, Mbappe and Neymar all struggling for form since returning from the World Cup. Since playmaker Javier Pastore became PSG’s first marquee signing for 42 million euros ($45 million) in 2011, the club’s net expenditure has risen to more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion). Despite this outlay, there’s been more humiliating exits than finals in Europe. Sporting director Leonardo — whose strong contacts with AC Milan made it possible to sign Ibrahimovic, Silva and European Championship-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma — was fired during his second spell. Yet problems have resurfaced under the new regime. PSG hadn’t lost three straight games since late 2011, and its five losses in 2023 are more than all of last year.