Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain Training - Campus Paris St Germain, Poissy, France - May 20, 2026 Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique, Desire Doue and Dro Fernandez during training REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
With just seven days remaining before the highly anticipated UEFA Champions League final, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) orchestrated a high-stakes internal scrimmage at their Poissy training ground. The exercise served as a critical rehearsal for the clash against Arsenal in Budapest on May 30th, ensuring the squad maintained peak performance ahead of the monumental showdown.
Under the guidance of head coach Luis Enrique, two evenly matched teams of eleven players competed in a fiercely contested match lasting over an hour. The intensity mirrored real-game conditions, providing invaluable rhythm for the players as they fine-tune their strategies.
Internal lineup split and key observations
The teams were divided as follows:
- Black Team: Marin – Fanne Drame, Zabarnyi, Hernandez, Mendes – Mayulu, Neves, Beraldo – Doué, Ramos, Barcola.
- White Team: Safonov – Zaïre-Emery, Pacho, Marquinhos, Cordier – Dro, Vitinha, Ruiz – Mbaye, Lee, Kvaratskhelia.
Two prominent names were notably absent from the pitch: Ousmane Dembélé and Achraf Hakimi. Both players, however, were not sidelined due to injury concerns. Instead, they engaged in individual training sessions, a precautionary measure by the technical staff to ensure their full readiness for the final. Their participation in Budapest remains confirmed, and both are expected to feature prominently in the starting lineup.
Meanwhile, Nuno Mendes and Willian Pacho, who had missed the recent Ligue 1 fixture against Paris FC, made their return to the squad and participated in the scrimmage.
Emerging talents seize the spotlight
Luis Enrique took the opportunity to integrate several young prospects into the fray, including Abdou Fanne Drame, Rayan Abo El Nay, Thomas Cordier, and Yanis Khafi. The session also saw standout performances from midfield maestro Vitinha and strikers Ibrahim Mbaye and Gonçalo Ramos, all of whom found the back of the net.
Over 1,000 passionate ultras were invited to witness the session, a gesture of gratitude from the club for their unwavering support throughout the season. The atmosphere was electric, with the ultras creating a stadium-like ambiance to simulate matchday conditions. The Collectif Ultras Paris seized the moment to deliver rousing messages of encouragement, prominently displaying a banner reading, “Once is historic, twice is legendary.”
Adding to the occasion, more than 150 children from the PSG for Communities initiative were also in attendance, personally invited by club president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. The players capped off the session by gifting jerseys and footballs to the young fans and supporters present.
Following a rest day on Sunday and Monday, the team will reconvene for training on Tuesday, marking the beginning of the final stretch before the Champions League showdown.
