PSG is struggling for form and leaking goals in France after four games without a win

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain is just above the French league's relegation zone.

As absurd as that seems, the two-time defending Champions League winner has made such a poor start to its Ligue 1 campaign that it is just one point above 17th place in the 18-team league.

PSG has just two points from three games and might have had even less. The defending champion had to twice fight back from 2-0 down to salvage draws, even needing a last-second equalizer deep into stoppage time against Lille on Aug. 28.

But fortune ran out in last Friday's 2-1 home loss to Monaco, a defeat which left the defending French champion in an unusually low 13th place.

It was PSG's fourth consecutive game without a win, including the 1-0 loss to Lens in the French league's curtain-raising Super Cup. In that game Lens played the entire second half with a player less following a sending off.

PSG's start to the domestic campaign reads like this: No wins. Two defeats. Two draws. Seven goals conceded.

Hardly the start expected from a team which downed Europe's best sides in the past two seasons and played some of the best attacking soccer seen anywhere for many years.

PSG coach Luis Enrique remained defiant after the Monaco setback, saying his side deserved to win by a large margin. He also shrugged off the fact PSG is seven points behind leader Monaco.

“If you want to bet on who will be champion at the end of the season, we can make a bet.” he said. “Seven points? OK, we’ll look to put that right as soon as possible.”

But midfielder João Neves conceded the team is not showing “the best version of itself” and Monaco's new coach Filipe Luís said much the same.

“PSG is not in its best form,” he said. “We tried to press them high up the field.”

So why has PSG made such a poor start to a domestic league it has dominated by winning the past five league titles ?

None of PSG’s attacking stars — Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — have scored in the past four games.

In fact, Dembélé was left out of the Lille game and only came on midway through the second half against Monaco.

Veteran center half Marquinhos and new signing Ferran Torres — whose second-half brace after coming off the bench rescued a draw at Rennes — have two goals each.

Luis Enrique said he was delighted with the summer transfer window and thanked his club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Spain's World Cup hero Torres was joined at PSG by France winger Maghnes Akliouche and Belgium prospect Mika Godts .

All are capable of playing as roaming forwards.

But they also have to adapt to PSG's intricate system which relies on constant pressing and a tireless work rate. It may take months to settle in.

PSG sold three established attacking players: striker Gonçalo Ramos to AC Milan, attacking midfielder Lee Kang-In to Atletico Madrid and winger Bradley Barcola to Liverpool .

Ramos is a lethal finisher and one of the best headers of the ball in European soccer. His goals off the bench were also invaluable for PSG.

Lee is a generous and versatile player whose strong technical skill helped PSG's link play in midfield and Barcola is a goal-scoring attacker with electrifying place.

Luis Enrique spent three years knitting his side together, creating a tight unit whereby each player relies on the other.

But by changing the attack too much he may actually have unbalanced his side. PSG remains vulnerable to fast counterattacks and quickly needs to fine-tune its transitional play, which was its strength in the last three seasons.

PSG hosts Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday in the Champions League, and could do with and a morale-boosting win. ___

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