Pacho Warns PSG Before Champions League Trip to Villarreal

Willian Pacho has told his Paris Saint-Germain team-mates that a perfect run guarantees nothing as the European champions visit Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday. The PSG defender argues that the Spanish side, second from bottom in LaLiga, are better than their league position suggests.

The message matters because PSG arrive at the Estadio de la Ceramica with a clean sheet of results in their title defense and few obvious reasons to doubt themselves. When a player in that position publicly urges his squad to stay sharp, it shows the mindset Luis Enrique wants to protect.

It also frames the match as a test of whether PSG can keep their record intact away from home. Nine wins in a row and a perfect start in Europe PSG have opened the defense of their Champions League title with three victories, over Slovan Bratislava, Manchester City and Barcelona.

Luis Enrique's team have been ruthless in those games, and the run has extended well beyond Europe. They travel to Spain having won nine consecutive matches in all competitions.

The latest of those came in Ligue 1, where PSG beat Le Havre 5-1. Right-back Achraf Hakimi scored a hat-trick and set up two more goals in that match.

He did so while Ousmane Dembele and Kvaratskhelia were out injured, which meant the attack had to function without two of its established names. That detail runs through Pacho's thinking about the squad.

Results have arrived even with key players missing, and the defender credits the team's depth for that. Pacho on Villarreal: better than the table says Villarreal's position near the bottom of LaLiga might invite PSG to treat the game as a routine away fixture.