Paris Saint-Germain: How Good Can They Be in Next Season's Champions League?

A 2-1 reverse away to Lille on Sunday effectively ended any hopes Paris Saint-Germain might have harbored of catching leaders Montpellier and snatching the Ligue 1 title from them, but Paris manager Carlo Ancelotti wasn't ready to give up the fight just yet.

The Italian, who replaced the embattled Antoine Kombouare around Christmas (adding an inexplicable air to the move, PSG were sitting in first place at the time), was characteristically succinct in his assessment of his side's title hopes.

"The title is not lost yet," Ancelotti told ligue1.com.

But with five points separating them from the southern leaders and just four games left to play, Paris may be forced to face the writing on the wall sooner rather than later.

The title may be a longshot at this juncture, but there is ample reason for contentment. PSG have qualified for next season's Champions League—the first time they'll have played in Europe's premier competition since 2004-05. The only question now is whether they will enter via the group stages (guaranteed with a second-place finish) or the playoffs (the case should they finish in third).

Lille currently sit two points behind PSG in the Ligue 1 standings.

Qatari Investment Authority, which bought the club last year, had made Champions League qualification the goal heading into this season. To that point, mission: success.

While fans may be rankled that a side so steeped in talent (more than €100 million was spent last summer on recruits, €42 million Javier Pastore the obvious jewel of the bunch), some perspective is in order.

Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, neither is any football club. Just ask Manchester City, who did not win a trophy (the 2011 FA Cup) until their third season of oil-infused ownership.

Like Pastore, Paris have shown glimpses of greatness this season. There is a reason they find themselves in second, however. They're not "there" just yet.

Looking ahead to the 2012-13 season, it's easy to see Paris as a potential force in the Champions League. Is that a realistic appraisal given their current season? Not really.

French teams have done well in the competition in recent seasons (Lyon most famously cracked the 2010 semifinals, dispatching Real Madrid in the round of 16 before bowing out to Bayern Munich), but none have graced the final since a Monaco side managed by Didier Deschamps in 2004 (they lost to Porto).

Paris are hardly the "typical" French team, however. Lyon had the distinction of boasting one of the biggest club budgets in the league, but they are currently undergoing a Chelsea-like purge of extraneous (and costly) veteran assets. A tightening of belts, as it were.

Meanwhile, Paris promise only to spend more. Sporting director Leonardo, hired from AC Milan last summer, will again have the equivalent of a blank check with which to entice potential prospects to the Parc des Princes (a shock swoop for Milan hit man Alexandre Pato has internet databases churning at present). There's no reason to think more star power won't be filtering through those doors come June.

With last season's Europa League as a reference point—PSG crashed out in the group stages, with a 2-0 loss away to Athletic Bilbao the most disappointing result—success in Europe next season might be somewhat difficult to envision at the moment.

But one season's worth of playing time is a long time. The PSG first team has remained mostly unchanged this season (Motta and center back Alex were the only key midseason acquisitions). There's no reason to think PSG can't do their Sunday opponents (Lille, who did not make it out of this season's group stages) one better next fall.

Never underestimate the power of playing together for consistent periods of time.

The task will not be an easy one, but PSG have some big chips in their favor: a manager (Ancelotti) who's won the European crown (2003 and 2007 with AC Milan) and players who've had success before (holding midfielder Thiago Motta won the 2010 title with Inter).

Obviously that's not enough to guarantee success, but it can serve as a start.

And right now, that's got to have PSG fans feeling pretty good.