The holders are safely into the Round of 16, but their labored 5-4 aggregate escape against Monaco has raised more questions than it answered. A year after sweeping through Europe with swagger and spectacle, Luis Enrique’s side suddenly looks short of the spark that once made them untouchable.

PSG arrived at the second leg in Paris with a 3-2 advantage, having already shown resilience by overturning a two-goal deficit in the first meeting at Stade Louis II. Yet instead of imposing themselves at home, they drifted. Maghnes Akliouche’s goal on the stroke of half-time silenced the Parc des Princes and exposed a team struggling to rediscover its intensity.

The turning point came not from PSG’s brilliance but from Monaco’s indiscipline. Mamadou Coulibaly’s dismissal for a second yellow card on 58 minutes tilted the tie. Only then did the champions rouse themselves, with Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scoring in quick succession to flip the match and preserve the aggregate lead. It was enough, but it was hardly convincing.

The contrast with last season is stark. Then, PSG surged from a shaky League Phase into a ruthless knockout machine, demolishing Brest 10-0 on aggregate before sweeping aside Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal, and crushing Inter 5-0 in a one-sided final in Munich. Luis Enrique’s side was hailed as a modern super-team, drawing comparisons with his treble-winning Barcelona.

Ousmane Dembele’s Ballon d’Or campaign symbolized that dominance, but he was only one part of a devastating collective. Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué, João Neves, Vitinha, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes all contributed to a high-tempo, fearless style that overwhelmed opponents.

Now, the same core looks dulled. Injuries to Dembele, Doué and Fabián Ruiz have disrupted rhythm, while the cumulative fatigue of a relentless previous season, including a draining Club World Cup run and a Super Cup triumph, appears to be catching up with the squad. The numbers underline the decline: PSG have already failed to win a significant portion of their matches across competitions, a clear drop-off from last year’s near-total control.

With Chelsea or Barcelona awaiting in the Round of 16, the champions retain the talent and experience to respond. Dembele and Ruiz are close to returning, and only Gianluigi Donnarumma is missing from last season’s core. Yet the sense persists that this group is running on fumes. If the magic is still there, PSG must rediscover it now, or risk seeing their reign end far earlier than anyone expected.