Paris Saint-Germain drew 0-0 with Auxerre on Friday at Abbé-Deschamps as part of Matchday 14 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. After the match, Paris coach Luis Enrique (54) spoke at a press conference. The Spaniard spoke of his team’s shortcomings, as well as Tuesday’s Champions League clash with RB Salzburg.
Luis Enrique “In that sense I have nothing to reproach my players for.”
What is your analysis of the match?
“I think the analysis can be positive and that the result doesn’t reflect our level of play. But you have to remember that we were playing against the second-best team at home.
The first half was difficult against a fresh team capable of pressing hard. But the fatigue of the second half gave us more space and we were able to create a lot of chances. In that sense, I have nothing to reproach my players for.”
Luis Enrique: “The solution doesn’t lie in the negativity that surrounds us”.
You say you have nothing to reproach your players for, but this lack of realism can’t just be bad luck; it also shows technical waste?
“If we analyze all the complete games, we have a very good level, that’s obvious. I have another point of view, the solution is not in the negativity that surrounds us. But it’s obvious that today we lacked precision in the final shot, and their goalkeeper also made some important saves. As a result, we were unable to score a goal.
But I repeat, there’s no magic formula, we have to continue to generate plenty of scoring opportunities, which is my responsibility as coach and that of the team. Today, our opponents created very few chances. The most important thing is to generate confidence in my team to tackle and solve this problem.”
Luis Enrique “I just want to generate confidence.”
Could the problem be mental, in which case how do you work on it?
“No, it’s not mental. This is a team that generates a lot of chances, that scores a lot of goals every game. But there are games where we don’t manage to score, especially in the Champions League, but on Tuesday against Salzburg, as usual we’ll give our best and try to win with our weapons. And our weapons are what we’ve done in previous matches.
Luis Enrique: “We had an exceptional 25 minutes of the second half”.
Was there a different speech at half-time?
“No, never. I give the indications before the start of the match. What happened in the second half was that we simply kept the same way of playing while the opponent’s physical level dropped.
It’s simply that the level of the first half, which doesn’t seem high to you, had an influence on that of the second half. We had an exceptional 25 minutes in the second half, against a very high-level rival. I have nothing to criticize. I’m just waiting for us to push again and again.”
Is there any doubt about Tuesday’s match against RB Salzburg?
“Maybe for you, but not for me. I’m not looking back, I’m looking forward. If I dwelt on the pressure around me and all the negativity, I’d throw myself out of the window. You just have to give it your all.”
