A look back at a busy first half of the season for the Parisiennes

Tabitha Chawinga, a signing that changed everything

After a successful summer's preparations and prestigious victories over Liverpool and AC Milan, the Paris Saint-Germain's women's team officially launched their 2023-2024 season at the Stade de l'Aube (Troyes), when they took on last season's Arkema D1 winners Olympique Lyonnais in the Trophée des Championnes. Faced with the league's top club, it proved too much for the Parisian ladies, who were still finding their feet and lost 2-0.

But that was not enough to halt the rise of the Rouge et Bleu, who picked up their first competitive win of the season at the historic Stade Chaban-Delmas against Girondins de Bordeaux on match day 1 of the Arkema D1. The 3-0 win was Gérard Prêcheur's last at the helm of the team, and he was immediately replaced by his son and assistant coach Jocelyn Prêcheur. The start of October was then marked by a second victory, this time away to St Etienne (0-1), but above all by the first goal scored in a Parisian shirt by the club's star signing at the end of the summer: Tabitha Chawinga.

Lieke Martens sees double, the Parisiennes qualify for UWCL

Ideal preparation for a perilous double-header against English runners-up Manchester United in the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage. On 10th October, the first leg was played on the other side of the Channel, where the Parisian ladies managed to produce a first-half performance of the highest quality, but were sorely lacking in goals.

It was not until the second half that Tabitha Chawinga opened the scoring, before French international Melvine Malard drew United level (1-1). It all came down to the following week at the Parc des Princes, when Lieke Martens decided to showcase her talent by scoring a brace in a 3-1 victory to send Paris Saint-Germain through to the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage!

A near-perfect record in the league

Following European qualification, the players from the capital club got back to winning ways in the league with a sparkling victory over Lille (0-4). And as good news never comes alone, the victory also provided Marie-Antoinette Katoto with the opportunity to return to scoring form, 477 days after her last goal. Buoyed by a hat-trick from Tabitha Chawinga, the Parisians repeated the feat three weeks later when they travelled to Dijon's Stade Gaston Gérard (2-5). Then, on their reunion with the Parisian crowd in mid-November, Jocelyn Prêcheur's players notched up a third consecutive win on the national stage in a top-of-the-table clash with FC Fleury 91, thanks to a splendid injury-time strike from Jackie Groenen (2-1).

A streak of wins for the Parisiennes, who proved to be unstoppable at Georges Lefèvre, where they scored another 4 goals in a straightforward 4-1 win over Montpellier HSC. After four consecutive wins, Paris were on the verge of defeat against HAC at the Stade Océane, before captain Grace Geyoro scored a last-minute equaliser with a devastating header (1-1). In their final Arkema D1 match of the year, the Rouge et Bleu got the better of neighbours Paris FC. Despite Gaëtane Thiney's opener at the Stade Charléty, it was Paris Saint-Germain who prevailed thanks to goals from Sandy Baltimore and Marie-Antoinette Katoto (1-2). With 22 points from 9 games, Paris Saint-Germain now lie 3rd in the league, 3 points behind PFC and 11 behind Lyon, but with 2 games in hand on their rivals.

A fully revitalised European future

In their 11th appearance in the main phase of the UEFA Women's Champions League, the Parisian ladies had a particularly tough group containing Bayern Munich, AS Roma and Ajax Amsterdam. In fact, it was against the Dutch club that Paris lost on the first match day, a difficult start that proved fatal for the club from the capital (2-0). In the second match, the Parisians welcomed the German champions to the Stade Jean Bouin and lost again, this time by the narrowest of margins (0-1). With their backs against the wall, Sakina Karchaoui's team-mates were destined for an exceptional double-header against the Italian champions.

The first leg was played in a Parc des Princes determined to push its players on, and goals from Grace Geyoro and Marie-Antoinette Katoto gave the Parisians their first win of the group phase (2-1). It was a liberating victory for the Parisians, who inflicted their first defeat of the season on the Romans in all competitions. It was a majestic performance that was to be repeated the following week in Italy in the second leg between the two European capitals. Tabitha Chawinga, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Korbin Albert were on target as Paris Saint-Germain secured their second win of the competition (1-3).

With 6 points from 4 games, the Parisians put themselves back in contention for a place in the next round. In a group that is tightly contested, the Rouge et Bleu are in 2nd place, one point ahead of Bayern Munich and one point behind Ajax Amsterdam, their next opponents. All the ingredients for an exciting second half of the season for the women!