On Tuesday, as part of the second leg of the Champions League 2024-2025 quarter-finals (Paris won the first leg 3-1), Paris Saint-Germain take on Aston Villa at Villa Park (kick-off 9pm, CET). On the eve of the match, Paris coach Luis Enrique answered a number of questions at a press conference.
Luis Enrique “We want to be ready for any problems posed by Aston Villa.”
Few teams dare to press you high, are you expecting it tomorrow? Would that create space?
First of all, I think one of the characteristics of this kind of competition is that the two games are very different, because there’s the result of the first one. There may have been pressing in some games, but not in others.
As a coach, we’re always wondering what our opponents are going to do. We want to be ready for whatever problems Aston Villa pose. The aim is to win.
Do you want to tell the fans you’re not afraid, or keep a low profile?
It’s great to play in a stadium like this, whether it’s home or away. It’s exciting to play a match like this. You have to enjoy it. It’s not a problem at all, but a motivation.
Luis Enrique: “We have to be ready to suffer in order to achieve our objective: victory”.
How do you avoid overconfidence?
There are always different moods around us over the seasons. There was a lot of pessimism at the start of the season, but now there’s a lot of motivation and optimism. But we have the maturity to avoid that, what’s outside, and concentrate on soccer. Nothing’s done yet. It’s going to be tough tomorrow, and we have to be ready to suffer to achieve our objective: victory.
Unai Emery has worked out all the scenarios, including the penalty shoot-out.
It’s logical that we should work on all the possibilities. One team will be eliminated, the other will qualify. It’s an exciting competition. Aston Villa are behind, but there’s still a game to go. It’s still open.
There’s no complacency. There’s motivation and now we’re looking for the right match. We want to solve the problems posed by Aston Villa.
Luis Enrique “when I saw that all the press was against my choice, then that was the way to go”
Do you have any certainties after the 3-1 first leg?
It’s like saying there’s a favorite before the game. We played the first game and I think we were superior, that we deserved the win. But that’s the past.
There’s a new game, a team that can win and everything’s open. If Aston Villa are better tomorrow, score goals and win, then that will be the situation. Tomorrow we have to show that we’re strong enough for the semi-finals. That’s what we need.
Donnarumma had a flaw in his aerial game. Did you talk to him about it?
I have nothing to say on the subject.
When did you decide to insist on Ousmane’s place in the center of the park?
When I saw that all the press was against my choice, so it was the right thing to do (smiles).
Luis Enrique “we want to get even better so we can go as far as possible.”
Would you say that PSG have the most unpredictable attack in Europe?
I think soccer is always difficult, especially in the Champions League, as everyone has different opponents. But at the end of the games, the numbers said a lot of good things about our team. I passed that on to the players. Some points were missing, but some very interesting things were done.
The figures showed that we were one of the best teams in Europe, in terms of possession, chances created… Now that we’ve got our efficiency back, we’re clearly one of the best teams. Now we want to improve even further to go as far as we can.
Will Aston Villa be more open?
Before the match, we always ask ourselves. We look for possible scenarios. I think our intention tomorrow will be to play higher up the pitch. With all that that implies. If we lose the ball, it could be closer to our goal. But there are also risks for them. There are always uncertainties in these games. It all depends on how each team handles the situation. It’s bound to be intense.
Luis Enrique “always plays according to his team-mates”.
Why do you like Fabian Ruiz so much?
I think we’re talking about the best player of the Euro won by Spain. He’s one of the few players who can always play according to his team-mates, to see which spaces to take. Few players can adapt like that. He’s experienced and I’m very happy to have him. He knows how to bring balance to attacking and defending.
Dembélé said he was bored by not playing. Why do you think it’s a plus not to have a match this weekend?
(laughs) I was bored too!
