Paris (AFP)

Finalist of the last Champions League, Paris SG awaits with ambition to know its future opponents, while Marseille and Rennes fear to catch big fish: answer Thursday (5:00 p.m.) during the draw for the Champions League, in Nyon (Swiss).

In August, French football was delighted to have, for the first time in its history, two teams competing in the last four, PSG and Lyon.

Thirty-nine days after the final lost by the capital club against Bayern (1-0), the Lisbon parenthesis is well and truly over for France, lowered to its rank of fifth European Championship in the UEFA rankings.

Between the PSG, never varnished in recent years, Marseille and Rennes, present in the last hat, that of the weakest formations, the groups of C1 promise a full fall for the French representatives, with very diverse ambitions.

The Parisians are attacking this new edition with a tenfold desire to relive an epic, after that of the past summer.

"Winning it is our goal. We believe in it more than before," assured its president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi.

Its superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappé having remained in the fold, the club already has in mind the date of the final, May 29 in Istanbul, which almost corresponds to the 10th anniversary of the arrival of its Qatari owner.

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But luck has often reserved heavy entry: since 2018, PSG has fallen in turn on the last three winners of the C1 to date, Bayern, Real Madrid and Liverpool.

This season, the worst-case scenario would reserve him a shock against Lionel Messi's FC Barcelona, ​​as well as difficult clashes against Inter Milan and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

If they avoid Barça, the Parisians could inherit one of the two clubs of Manchester, or Chelsea, which recruited its former captain Thiago Silva this summer.

A more lenient draw would put him at grips with Ajax Amsterdam or Shakthar Donetsk, by far the less prestigious opponents of hat 2, or even Borussia Dortmund of his ex-defender Thomas Meunier, whom he eliminated in the 8th in March latest.

Paris is only certain not to face either Marseille or Rennes, as UEFA regulations prohibit matches between teams from the same country at this stage of the competition.

OM have waited a long time for this moment.

The club, absent since 2013-2014, finally renews its love affair with the Cup with the big ears, which the Marseillais won in 1993.

- "No fear" in Marseille -

The supporters, if they risk seeing their access to the stadium restricted because of the sanitary instructions, should have stars in their eyes from Thursday: being in hat 4, OM is exposed to the top names of the continent, starting with the Defending Bayern, Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus or Real Madrid coached by Zinédine Zidane, the child of the northern districts of the city.

"There is no fear. For us, it's a gift to replay the Champions League and now we will enjoy. Obviously, we can not dream of much, the goal will remain, if we can , to qualify for the 8th, it will be a big challenge and it will depend on the draw, ”explained technician André Villas-Boas.

Last French team in the running, Rennes, qualified thanks to its 3rd place in the last championship interrupted by the new coronavirus, expects to fall on the big one.

"We are going to discover all this with a huge desire to bite into it, to make the most of it," assured coach Julien Stéphan, who had made Breton supporters dream in 2019 with a career in the Europa League until the 8th of final.

"We want big, heavy", assures Gurval Guiguen, a fan interviewed by AFP, before quoting the slogan of a character of the "Bronzés": "Forget that you have no chance (. ..) on a misunderstanding it can work ".

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