PSG see controversial request ahead of Champions League last-16 clash with Chelsea approved

PSG won the Champions League last season having eased to a 5-0 win over Inter in Munich last May. Achraf Hakimi, Desire Doue - twice - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Senny Mayulu all got on the scoresheet at the Allianz Arena as the French giants landed the Champions League for the first time in their history.

However, their defence suffered a slight bump in the road as they failed to secure a top-eight finish, which resulted in a play-off double header with Ligue 1 rivals Monaco. PSG won the first leg at the Stade Louis II 3-2 after Monaco were reduced to 10 men shortly after the break.

And Monaco had another man dismissed in the return leg in the capital after Mamadou Coulibaly received his marching orders on the hour mark in an eventual 2-2 draw that saw the French powerhouse progress 5-4 on aggregate.

Their reward was a meeting with Chelsea in the last-16 in a repeat of the 2025 Club World Cup final. Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro both got on the scoresheet as the Blues claimed a 3-0 win in America last summer to secure glory.

Chelsea make the short trip across the channel for their first leg tie on March 11 before PSG return to London on March 17 as the French side seek to win the Champions League for a second year running. The welcome of Nantes, which was currently scheduled to take place on March 14, was initially sandwiched between the last-16 fixtures.

However, on Friday PSG asked the LFP to postpone the game against The Canaries in order to give them more time to prepare for the return leg at Stamford Bridge. Nantes also agreed to the request, with the league on Saturday confirming that PSG's wish had been granted.

"At the request of Paris Saint-Germain in order to prepare in the best possible conditions for its two-legged tie with Chelsea in the Champions League Round of 16, the LFP Board of Directors, with the agreement of FC Nantes, has decided that the PSG - FC Nantes match will be played the week of April 20," a statement on Saturday read.

"The exact date and time of this match will be determined later."

However, the news hasn't gone down well with teams on both sides of the channel. France's other European representatives, Lyon, Strasbourg and Lille, have not made a similar request, despite their respective Europa League and Conference League participation.

Chelsea, meanwhile, will still play their Premier League game that same weekend. The Blues face Newcastle in what could prove a crucial clash in the race to secure a top-four finish.

Liam Rosenior's men currently sit fifth in England's top tier, three points behind fourth-placed Manchester United ahead of Sunday's trip to Arsenal having failed to win their last two league games. Indeed, Chelsea laboured to home draws with Leeds and Burnley, throwing away respective two-goal and one-goal leads in the eventual stalemates.

PSG also saw a similar request for a match postponement approved last season. Enrique's side, incidentally, were scheduled to face Nantes between their quarter-final clash with Aston Villa, but the league meeting was delayed until the following week, despite protestations from PSG's domestic opponents.

Meanwhile, in the 2023-24 campaign, PSG's game against Nice between the semi-final meetings with Borussia Dortmund was also delayed. The French giants didn't benefit from the postponements, however, as they lost both subsequent games to Villa and Dortmund.

The winner of PSG's meeting with Chelsea will face either Liverpool or Galatasaray in the quarter-finals. And on the draw itself, Enrique said: "The Champions League draw is difficult, as usual. We don’t expect anything different," he said. "We are pleased. It will be interesting to play against one of the best English teams, who we know well.

"There is no feeling of revenge for us. This is a different competition. This is our pathway and we are used to it. We are the champions at the moment in this competition, so the problem is for all the other teams. They have to play against us, that is what I think."

PSG get their domestic campaign back underway when they take on Le Havre on Saturday night.