2013–14 Paris Saint-Germain F.C. season

After Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Silva, Marco Verratti, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Gregory van der Wiel, who all arrived in the summer of 2012, Paris Saint-Germain made another big impact in the summer transfer window 12 months later. Lucas Digne, Marquinhos and Edinson Cavani all joined the squad now coached by Laurent Blanc, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti. The defending Ligue 1 champions hit the ground running with a 2-1 victory over Girondins de Bordeaux to snare the first silverware of the new season, the 2013 Trophée des Champions in Libreville, Gabon.[3]

In Ligue 1, the season opened with a 1-1 draw away to Montpellier, followed by a 1-1 draw at home to AC Ajaccio, which saw Edinson Cavani open his account with Les Rouge-et-Bleu. In Week 3, Laurent Blanc's men recorded their first win of the new season, against Nantes, 2-1.[3] After this slow start to Ligue 1, Blanc's change to a three-man midfield composed by Blaise Matuidi, Thiago Motta and Verratti in a 4-3-3 system during a 2-0 away win over Bordeaux in early September was the pivotal moment. It took just four more games before PSG permanently overhauled early pacesetters Monaco at the top of the table.[4] After another 2-0 wins over Guingamp, the capital club were back in UEFA Champions League action. The objective was to at least do as well as the previous season where the side was eliminated in the quarter-finals on the away goals rule against Barcelona (2-2 and 1-1). And Paris started in style away to Olympiacos with a 4-1 win.[3]

After being held 1-1 by Monaco, and two wins over Valenciennes (1-0) and Toulouse (2-0), Paris enjoyed a week rich in emotions. First up was Benfica at home, before a trip to Olympique de Marseille's Stade Vélodrome. Les Rouge-et-Bleu made light work of their home clash, defeating the Portuguese side 3-0, for a second straight Champions League game. And the came one of the turning points of the season. Reduced to ten men and trailing on the scoreboard, Paris came from behind to defeat OM 2-1, before racking up the victories in October and November, defeating Bastia (4-0), Anderlecht (5-0), Lorient (4-0), Nice (3-1) and Stade de Reims (3-0). Only Saint-Étienne (2-2) and Anderlecht (1-1) took points. The series continued with Olympiacos (2-1), which confirmed qualification for the last-16 of the Champions League, and Olympique Lyonnais (4-0) where Paris really impressed.[3]

The two first defeats of the season, against Evian (0-2) and Benfica (1-2) changed little. Laurent Blanc's men continued to dominate with big wins over Sochaux-Montbéliard (5-0) and Stade Rennais (3-1), before qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue after extra time against Saint-Étienne. A 2-2 with Lille in the final game of the calendar year saw Paris sitting atop the standings. Stade Brest (5-2, Coupe de France last 64), Ajaccio (2-1), Bordeaux (3-1, Coupe de la Ligue quarter-finals) and Nantes (5-0) all fell against the champions.[3] The Coupe de France defeat at home to Montpellier (1-2) in the last 32 was the season's low note.[4] However, Les Parisiens followed up with victories over Bordeaux (2-0) and Nantes (2-1).[3]

Monaco held the club to another draw (1-1), but it only sparked the side into a streak of 11 wins in a row. In the 2014 Coupe de France Final, against Lyon, Paris won 2-1 and collected their second title of the season after the Trophée des Champions. Paris then defeated Evian TG 1-0, before drawing with Sochaux 1-1 and were crowned French champions before entering the field to play against Rennes (1-2), after Monaco failed to win. It was a second consecutive league title, the fourth in the club's history, and the third trophy of the season.[3]

Players, transfers, appearances and goals - 2013/2014 season.[5][6]

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FRA Nicolas Douchez 2 DF  BRA Thiago Silva (captain) 4 MF  FRA Yohan Cabaye 5 DF  BRA Marquinhos 6 DF  FRA Zoumana Camara 7 MF  FRA Jérémy Ménez 8 MF  ITA Thiago Motta 9 FW  URU Edinson Cavani 10 FW  SWE Zlatan Ibrahimović 13 DF  BRA Alex 14 MF  FRA Blaise Matuidi 16 GK  FRA Mike Maignan 17 DF  BRA Maxwell

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 DF  FRA Lucas Digne 22 FW  ARG Ezequiel Lavezzi 23 DF  NED Gregory van der Wiel 24 MF  ITA Marco Verratti 25 MF  FRA Adrien Rabiot 26 DF  FRA Christophe Jallet 27 MF  ARG Javier Pastore 29 MF  BRA Lucas Moura 30 GK  ITA Salvatore Sirigu 35 FW  FRA Hervin Ongenda 38 MF  FRA Kingsley Coman 40 GK  FRA Mory Diaw

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  FRA Antoine Conte (at Reims) — DF  FRA Jordan Ikoko (at Créteil) — DF  FRA Youssouf Sabaly (at Evian)

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  FRA Alphonse Aréola (at Lens) — MF  FRA Clément Chantôme (at Toulouse) — FW  FRA Jean-Christophe Bahebeck (at Valenciennes)

Transfers in

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  URU Edinson Cavani (from Napoli) — DF  FRA Lucas Digne (from Lille)

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BRA Marquinhos (from Roma) — MF  FRA Yohan Cabaye (from Newcastle United)

Transfers out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG David Beckham (Retired) — GK  FRA Ronan Le Crom (Retired) — DF  CIV Siaka Tiéné (to Montpellier) — DF  FRA Sylvain Armand (to Rennes)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  FRA Loïck Landre (to Lens) — FW  FRA Kevin Gameiro (to Sevilla) — DF  URU Diego Lugano (to West Brom) — DF  FRA Mamadou Sakho (to Liverpool)

Official websites

• PSG.fr – Site officiel
• Paris Saint-Germain at LFP
• Paris Saint-Germain at UEFA
• Paris Saint-Germain at FIFA