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PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain have developed a reputation over the last decade as being one of Europe's most glamorous clubs, albeit without ever claiming the Champions League glory so coveted by their Qatari owners.

Now, however, a team stripped of superstars is drifting dangerously towards mediocrity and at risk of an unthinkable early exit from the continent's elite club competition.

PSG are in Austria on Tuesday to face Red Bull Salzburg in what is a must-win game if they are to avoid being eliminated from the new-look Champions League before the knockout phase.

The top 24 teams at the end of the league phase go on to the knockouts, but the French champions are currently 25th with just four points and three goals scored after five matches.

Ten points may be needed to advance and Luis Enrique's team still have tough games against Manchester City and Stuttgart to come, meaning the pressure is on in Salzburg.

Runners-up in 2020 and semifinalists last season, PSG have not gone out of the Champions League before the knockout rounds since 2004/05, when their biggest name was Portuguese striker Pedro Miguel Pauleta.

Since the transformative takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, PSG fans have become used to seeing glamourous players in their team, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani, to Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

The departure of Mbappe after last season marked a change in policy, with PSG deciding to focus on building a new team with talented but unproven youngsters.

The likes of Warren Zaire-Emery, Joao Neves and Bradley Barcola, all aged between 18 and 22, are now regulars in Luis Enrique's team, while France winger Ousmane Dembele is probably the most recognisable face.

Empty seats 

The change in approach has not stopped PSG from sitting five points clear at the top of Ligue 1, despite drawing their last two matches.

However, their performances in Europe have been sub-standard and often simply mediocre as they have struggled to lay a glove on the likes of Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

Fans are clearly not overly enamoured, with empty seats now a common sight at many PSG home matches at the 48,000-capacity Parc des Princes -- that is especially concerning at a time when the club are looking at the possibility of building a much larger new ground in the suburbs.

Without the explosive pace of Mbappe, the skills of Neymar or the charisma of Ibrahimovic, much of PSG's football under Luis Enrique this season has been one-paced, even boring.

It all raises questions about the future direction for a club that has in recent years established itself as one of the world's biggest sporting brands.

'Solid foundations' 

"Dream less big" said one headline in sports daily L'Equipe last week, in a twist on the club's motto of "Dream Bigger".

"Are PSG beginning a decline," asked another headline in the same publication, and it will be impossible not to believe that is the case if they fail in the Champions League.

"PSG are the team who score the most goals and concede the fewest in Ligue 1. In the Champions League it is more difficult," Luis Enrique said after Friday's 0-0 draw at Auxerre.

"We will go to Salzburg looking to win and score goals. We have no safety net, but that is our aim."

Luis Enrique knows the spotlight will be focused ever more firmly on him if results in Europe do not improve.

There have been reports in recent days of rifts developing between the Spaniard and leading players said to be unhappy with his management style.

There is also uncertainty about the future of director of football Luis Campos, whose contract expires at the end of the season.

However, PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi is sticking by Luis Enrique, telling L'Equipe: "We have a strategy for the short, medium and long term and I have full faith in the coach and players.

"Our project has solid foundations and we will keep building on those."

Those foundations will nevertheless be far less solid if PSG do not rapidly improve in the Champions League, starting on Tuesday.

CARSON, United States — The Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-1 to clinch a record-extending sixth MLS Cup crown on Sunday, ending a decade-long title drought for the Major League Soccer glamour club.

First-half goals from Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic proved decisive for Galaxy, roared on by 26,812 fans in bright sunshine at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.

Saturday's title completes a remarkable transformation for the Galaxy, who finished one place off the bottom of the Western Conference last season -- their worst ever regular season record.

However the club who once dominated MLS during the David Beckham era always looked to have the upper hand in Saturday's showpiece against a Red Bulls side who advanced to the playoff finale after a giant-killing postseason campaign.

"I'm so proud of this group," Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said afterwards.

"From day one when I came here and the guys we were working with and everybody, we committed to this...Even in that difficult year of last year, we stuck to it."

The victory was especially sweet for Vanney, who finished on the losing side in three MLS Cup finals as a player.

"It feels good because I fell on my face three times as a player," Vanney admitted.

Earlier, Galaxy took control of the final in a devastating early spell that left them 2-0 up after just 13 minutes.

Defensive reshuffle 

New York had been forced into a hasty defensive switch at the last minute after centre-half Andres Reyes fell sick moments before kick-off following the pre-match warm-ups.

That meant a first start in more than two months for New York's Noah Eile, and the 22-year-old Swede's lack of match sharpness was soon exposed by Galaxy's vibrant attacking play.

Eile was caught napping for Galaxy's first goal, playing Paintsil onside after Gaston Brugman's superbly weighted through ball split the Red Bulls defence.

Paintsil made no mistake with the finish, slotting under advancing Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel to make it 1-0.

The stadium erupted and Paintsil celebrated by holding aloft a Galaxy shirt bearing the name of injured talisman Riqui Puig, who applauded from the sideline.

With New York reeling, Galaxy remained firmly on the front foot.

Serbian international Joveljic sent a shot whistling just over the bar in the 12th minute and then made it 2-0 a minute later.

Eile was again caught out of position, and Joveljic was granted too much time and space to surge forward from midfield and finish past Coronel with the outside of his right boot into the bottom corner.

There seemed no way back for an out-of-sorts Red Bulls after Galaxy's second, but Sandro Schwarz's team regrouped and hauled themselves back into the game just before the half-hour mark.

Swedish international Emil Forsberg's corner from the left sowed confusion in the penalty area and after Galaxy failed to clear, the ball fell to Sean Nealis who controlled with his chest and volleyed home.

That marked the start of a sustained spell of pressure for New York, with Cameron Harper and Eile both drawing saves from Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy in the 31st and 34th minutes.

Los Angeles continued to look the more incisive team on the break though, and Eile's nightmare first half continued when he was booked for a clumsy bodycheck on Joveljic.

Joveljic almost grabbed his second of the game in first half stoppage time but his shot from Miki Yamane's shot and cross was safely gathered by Coronel.

Galaxy continued to carve out chances after the break, with Paintsil curling a shot just over on 55 minutes and Japan international Miki Yamane hitting the woodwork midway through the half.

Only a superb reflex saved from Coronel denied Joveljic on 72 minutes but New York then nearly grabbed an equaliser with a counter-attack that ended with Forsberg's shot hitting the outside of the post.

In a tension-filled final few minutes, Galaxy thought they had won when referee Guido Gonzales whistled deep into stoppage time.

The stadium erupted and fans celebrated but players and support staff were waved off the field after Gonzales signalled play would continue before the game finally ended moments later.

PARIS — Saint-Etienne and Marseille face off in Ligue 1 this weekend as two of French football's most storied clubs prepare to meet twice in the space of a fortnight.

Les Verts, whose 10 French titles is second only to Paris Saint-Germain, were also drawn to face Marseille in the last 64 of the French Cup just before Christmas.

Back in the top flight after two seasons in the second division, Saint-Etienne have relied heavily on their home form to stay afloat this term.

Saint-Etienne have won four of their last five at their Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, where they have collected all but one of their 13 points so far.

Last weekend they crashed to a 5-0 loss at Rennes after being reduced to 10 men before half-time.

"There will be other obstacles, and big ones. We have a very tough season ahead, we know that," said coach Olivier Dall'Oglio in the wake of that defeat.

"When there are challenges of that type, we're going to need to overcome them and not collapse like I saw the team collapse."

Marseille, conversely, have thrived on their travels and have the league's best away record with six wins from seven matches.

Roberto De Zerbi's side climbed above Monaco into second place with a 2-1 win last Sunday and sit six points back of leaders PSG.

Luis Enrique's side face another critical juncture in their season, travelling to Auxerre on Friday before a trip to Salzburg next week in the Champions League.

PSG are unbeaten in their last 30 away games in Ligue 1 but were held at home by a struggling Nantes team last weekend.

With just one win in five in Europe, PSG find themselves outside the 24 qualifying spots for the knockout stages.

"We've made mistakes in terms of our performances in the Champions League but it's a good season," the Spaniard said on Thursday.

"Our problems are good ones because we can push past them. These results don't reflect what I've seen on the pitch."

Luis Enrique also moved to quash talk of dressing room discord, dismissing claims of tensions between himself and some players.

"I'm not going to respond to rumours and lies," he said. "The team is wonderful and I have nothing to add."

Lille and Brest, both of whom are well positioned to advance in the Champions League, meet on Friday before Monaco -- who also have 10 points from five games in Europe -- host Toulouse on Saturday.

Player to watch: Randal Kolo Muani

The France international's stock has dropped alarmingly at PSG, to the extent that he has played a total of 33 minutes over the past six league games -- four of which he has not even featured in.

The 26-year-old was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for 90 million euros ($95 million) at the start of last season but has not started for the club since the 1-1 draw with Nice on October 6, sowing doubt over his future as the transfer window approaches.

"It's a difficult period for everyone because we'll have to see what we need in terms of buying players and evaluate those who want to leave," Luis Enrique said on Thursday.

"But I hope right up until the end these players will convince me they deserve to play."

AMMAN — The CFI Professional Football League heads into its final stretch in Leg 1 with all clubs playing this week.

Standings shifted as Hussein stayed atop the pack, although together with Wihdat, they had matches postponed due to stage 6 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Champions League (ACL) Two matches. Wihdat lost 3-1 to UAE’s Sharjah Tuesday while Hussein played Kuwait FC in an away match Wednesday as both Jordanian teams booked a spot in the quarterfinals.

The upcoming week will see League titleholders Hussein vs Shabab Urdun,  Ahli vs Sarih,  Salt vs Ma’an, Mughayer Sarhan vs Faisali, Wihdat vs Ramtha, Jazira vs Aqaba.

Sarih are on a high note after a good two weeks during which they eliminated Faisali to reach the  Shield semis before holding them 1-1 in the League to move out of the relegation zone for now. 

Salt was the biggest mover -  up 3 spots to 7th  - after they beat Mughayer Sarhan 1-0 while Ma'an dropped to 11th after losing 3-1 to Shabab Urdun who moved up a spot, as Ramtha beat Ahli 1-0 to stay second for now.

Last week, Salt won their first ever major title when they upset Wihdat to take home the Jordan Football Association Shield Cup – the second major competition on the local football calendar. Salt were the only undefeated team while Wihdat eyed their first season title as they aim for a strong comeback after Ramtha and Hussein won the Pro League in the past two seasons. On their way to the final, Salt eliminated league champs Hussein while Wihdat ousted Sarih.

LOS ANGELES, United States — The New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks advanced to the knockout phase of the NBA Cup with emphatic victories on Tuesday, the Knicks hammering Orlando 121-106 in a blowout that still allowed the Magic to grab a quarter-final berth.

At Madison Square Garden, the Knicks dominated in the battle to finish unbeaten and win the East Group A, overpowering a Magic team that came in with the third-rated defence in the league.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Jalen Brunson added 21 points, Mikal Bridges scored 19 and OG Anunoby and Miles McBride scored 18 apiece for the Knicks while Josh Hart contributed a triple-double of 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Franz Wagner scored 30 to lead Orlando, who were assured of advancing so long as they didn't lose by 37 points or more.

The Magic, who gave up 32 points on 16 turnovers, saw their deficit hit that number in the third quarter but clawed back to grab the East wild card berth on points differential over the NBA champion Boston Celtics, who also finished group play 3-1.

The Magic jumped to a quick eight-point lead but the Knicks, needing a victory to advance, put together an 11-0 scoring run to grab a 17-14 advantage on the way to a 36-27 lead after one quarter and never trailed again.

In Detroit, the Bucks drained 23 three-pointers on the way to a 128-107 victory over the Pistons in a battle of East East Group B leaders that saw the hosts eliminated.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points with seven rebounds and eight assists and Damian Lillard scored 27 points for the Bucks, who have won seven straight games -- including a victory over Detroit in which Antetokounmpo dropped a season-high 59 points.

Antetokounmpo made 10 of 11 shots from the floor and sat out the entire fourth quarter.

Lillard drilled five three-pointers and played only the first few minutes of the fourth.

Milwaukee had seized control early, connecting on 69.2 percent of their shots in the first half -- including 15 of 21 from three-point range.

"I thought our ball movement was unbelievable," Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said. "We just kept finding open guys, played unselfish basketball."

The quarter-finals of the in-season tournament will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday with the semi-finals to be played on December 14 in Las Vegas -- where the final will be held on December 17.

Group stage games count as regular-season games and the Cleveland Cavaliers, eliminated from the Cup, easily improved their league-leading record to 19-3 with a 118-87 victory over the Washington Wizards -- who dropped their 15th straight.

Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points each for the Cavs, who had seven players score in double figures.

AMMAN -  Wihdat and Hussein play Round 6 matches in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Champions League (ACL) Two as of Tuesday before the decisive quarterfinals of the competition.

Both Jordanian teams booked a spot in the quarterfinals of the second tier Asian event that has replaced the AFC Cup, as thetop tier Asian clubs competition was rebranded as the ACLElite. Asian clubs played in 8 groups in the 21st edition of the ACL Two competition, with the top two in each group moving to the quarters. 

Wihdat will host UAE’s Sharjah in Amman at 5:00 pm on Dec. 3hoping to end fist stage matches with a win after they were held 2-2 in their first match. Coach Ra’fat Ali has given playing time to many players during the Shield Cup and ACL and has the chance to do so again as his team tops Group C and already looking ahead for the quarterfinals draw.

The team’s goalie, Abdullah Fakhouri, who is also the national squad’s substitute, was the star of the match in last week’s 1-1 draw with Sepahan Isfahan but is booked for Tuesday’s clash, Wihdat will seek to maintain their unbeaten run after they beat Isfahan 2-1 and Tajikistan’s Istiklol 1-o twice. In other group matches, Sepahan upset Sharjah 3-1 after losing 3-1, Sharjah beat Istiklol 1-0 and 3-1 and Sepahan beat Istiklol 4-0.

On the other hand, Jordan league champs Hussein play Kuwait in an away match hoping to repeat their earlier 2-1 win. They last lost their home game against UAE’s Ahli Dubai 3-2 to drop to second in Group D. Hussein had earlier lost 3-1 to Ahli andbeat Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi twice. In other group matches, Ahli held Kuwait 3-3 after earlier beating them 4-1, Kuwait held Nasaf 0-0 and beat them 2-1 while Nasaf upset Ahli 2-1.  

LONDON — Enzo Maresca says Chelsea can dominate English football over the next decade but insists they are not yet ready for a Premier League title challenge despite their impressive start to the season.

The Blues are third in the English top flight, level on 25 points with Arsenal and nine points behind runaway leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea face bottom-of-the table Southampton on Wednesday, while Liverpool have a testing trip to Newcastle and Arsenal host rejuvenated Manchester United.

Maresca, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said Chelsea's progress in his first season as manager had exceeded his expectations but he urged caution.

"They [Arsenal] have been there in the last two years very close to City and we were very far from City," said the Italian.

"To be in the title race is a nice pressure for me and for the players -- it's that kind of pressure that you like because you are in the title race -- but it is not our case because Arsenal in the last two years they were very, very, very close to City. Liverpool, they have been there and we were not there.

"Hopefully soon, we can be there."

Maresca, who has fashioned an effective team from a bloated squad, said Chelsea's future was bright.

"Because of the age and because of how good the squad is, for me Chelsea in the next five, 10 years, will be one of the teams or the team that is going to dominate English football," he said.

He added: "I think we are in the right direction and in terms of a personal target, I know from outside you struggle to believe but... I'm focused on Southampton, but I'm not focused about the end of the season, next season, two seasons because it's not real."

The former Leicester boss said he was expecting a tough challenge at St Mary's Stadium despite Southampton's struggles.

"It is the worst game since we started the season for us and will be the toughest game since we started the season and we need to be ready, otherwise it will be a bad day for us," he said.

"If you analyse the results, probably they are there but in terms of performance they were winning against Liverpool, they lost against City 1-0 and they drew the last game against Brighton."

Maresca said defender Wesley Fofana, who reportedly suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday's 3-0 win against Aston Villa, would be out of action for a few weeks and captain Reece James was also weeks away from a return.

LIVERPOOL — Liverpool have been used to second best during Pep Guardiola's era at Manchester City, but a 2-0 victory over the crisis-hit champions left little doubt over who are the team to beat in this season's Premier League title race.

Goals in either half from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah at Anfield on Sunday did not do justice to the scale of the Reds' domination as City succumbed to a sixth defeat in a seven-game winless run.

Arsenal and Chelsea are now Liverpool's closest challengers, nine points behind, with City 11 back and almost certain to finally loose their grip on the English top flight after an unprecedented four consecutive titles and six in the past seven seasons.

Guardiola reminded the Anfield crowd of that fact by raising six fingers when taunted with chants of "sacked in the morning".

The Catalan's defiance, though, could not mask the fact that City have rested on their laurels, while Liverpool have stepped up a level under Arne Slot.

Slot appeared to have the impossible job of succeeding the much-loved Jurgen Klopp.

The charismatic German brought Liverpool back to the top of English and European football. His title triumph in 2019/2020 was the club's first for 30 years and the only blot on City's dominance in recent times.

In contrast to Alex Ferguson's departure from Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's exit at Arsenal, Liverpool have turned a legendary figure leaving into a positive.

Klopp did much of the groundwork himself, rejuvenating the squad over his final 18 months in charge with the signings of Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch.

Slot's only summer signing, Federico Chiesa, has barely featured due to injury.

But the injection of fresh blood, mixed with the experience of title winners in the prolific Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk, Andy Roberson and Trent Alexander-Arnold has proved a winning combination.

Slot has been keen to give Klopp's legacy credit, but the Dutchman deserves his due for the small details that have produced a run of 18 wins from his first 20 games in all competitions.

'A great day' 

Robertson and Alexander-Arnold's narrower positions have left Liverpool less vulnerable in transition and contributed to them having the best defensive record in the league.

Gravenberch has shone since being transformed into a holding midfielder, while Gakpo is finally delivering on his potential under his compatriot.

Slot has also managed to keep Liverpool's momentum rolling despite constant speculation over the futures of Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, all of whom are out of contract at the end of the season.

"City are a fantastic team, four times champions in a row and they have quality to punish any team," said Van Dijk. "So, overall, it has been a great day.

"It's game-by-game and stay calm. But games like this, when you win it like this, is always a good feeling."

It is not just the Premier League that Slot has so far bent to his will.

Liverpool are also top of the Champions League with a perfect record from five games, including a memorable 2-0 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Victory over City capped a dream week, but the former Feyenoord boss was still keen to use the English and European champions as the benchmark for his side's aspirations.

"Real Madrid and Manchester City have been and are so good, with managers that have won so many trophies, so it is always nice to come out of those situations as a winner," added Slot.

"But they were able to win every single three days. We understand what we want to achieve is more than this winning once or twice, even against these big teams, if you want to win big things."

December may only be a day old, but already it is hard to see beyond Liverpool matching Manchester United's record tally for 20 English top-flight titles come May.

KILLINGTON, United States — Mikaela Shiffrin’s bid for a milestone 100th alpine World Cup victory was on hold after the US superstar crashed out of the Killington giant slalom won by Sweden’s Sara Hector on Saturday.

Shiffrin, already the owner of the most World Cup victories in history, was poised to claim a once unimaginable century after topping the first-run times.

She looked on course for the win when she crashed heavily in the second leg and Sweden’s Olympic gold medallist Hector emerged with the victory with a total of 1min 53.08sec.

Shiffrin said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the damage was not too bad.

“Not really too much cause for concern at this point,” she said in a video from a clinic bed.

“I just can’t move. I have a pretty good abrasion,” she added, indicating an area near the front of her left hip, where, she said “something stabbed me”.

“I am so sorry to scare everybody, and it looks like all the scans so far are clear,” said Shiffrin, who added in the post that she would be “cheering from the sidelines” on Sunday.

Shiffrin, who led after the first leg, had a lead of 17-hundredths of a second over Hector when she appeared to catch an edge heading into the steep final section of the course.

She hit a gate and somersaulted into another before sliding into the catch-fencing, but gave a wave to fans as she was taken off the hill.

She was taken from the course on a sled, offering a wave to fans on her way.

Shiffrin, 29, already has 13 more World Cup wins than the most successful man, Ingemar Stenmark, and 17 more than the second woman, compatriot Lindsey Vonn.

Needing three wins to hit 100 to start the season, she bagged her 98th and 99th career titles with back-to-back slalom wins in Levi, Finland, and Gurgl, Austria.

That gave her a chance to complete her century in front of home fans in Killington, not far from where she attended Burke Mountain Academy as a youngster.

Shiffrin — who has won six slaloms at Killington but never a giant slalom — was greeted by ecstatic cheers as she crossed the finish line of the first leg atop the times by 32-hundredths of a second.

But her day ended not in celebration but in a rare “Did Not Finish” — just her 21st in 274 career starts and her first in giant slalom since January of 2018.

Shiffrin was sidelined six weeks last season after suffering a knee injury when she crashed in a downhill on the Olympia delle Tofane course in Italy, which will be used for the 2026 Olympics.

She returned to finish the season, but ruled out competing in speed events.

Hector quiets doubts 

Hector was delighted with her sixth World Cup victory after what she described as “a little period when I doubted myself”, at the start of the season.

“I had a period where I was not skiing good in training and I really had to work a lot mentally,” she said. “The last weeks I would say have been a rollercoaster.”

But she was full of sympathy for Shiffrin.

“It’s just so sad, of course, to see her crash like that. She was skiing so well. It breaks my heart.”

Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic finished second, 54-hundredths of a second behind Hector, and Switzerland’s Camille Rast was third, 1.05 seconds back.

It was a first-ever podium finish for both and Rast, in third as Shiffrin started her second run, wasn’t expecting it.

“I was down [in the finish area], looking at Mikaela and [thinking] ‘OK, fourth place again and it’s fine in GS,” she said. “I hope she is hurt not so bad ... I hope she will be back soon.”

After Sunday’s slalom the women’s schedule is up in the air after two giant slaloms scheduled for Tremblant, Canada, next weekend were cancelled because of lack of snow.