Paris Saint-Germain won 2-5 against Brest (video highlights Brest/PSG) on Saturday at the Stade Francis-Le Blé on Matchday 20 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. After the match, Paris coach Luis Enrique spoke at a press conference. The Spaniard shared his thoughts on the match, the 27-year-old striker’s hat-trick and the Champions League play-offs against Brest (February 11 and 19).
Enrique “It’s very difficult to play against Brest”.
What’s your analysis of the match?
“First of all, it’s always difficult to come and play here. They’re a very hard-working team, and they’re good at playing deep. It’s very difficult to play against Brest, but the result is good, we created a lot of chances and scored five of them. I think we’re in a positive dynamic, just like Ousmane Dembélé.”
Enrique “All the players coming off the bench are playing very well.”
What did you do to make Dembélé so surgical?
“There was a lot of resilience in this match and indeed Dembélé is in a very good period. I should also mention the assists given to Ousmane Dembélé. For example, the one to Barcola, and we can also see that Gonçalo Ramos scored two goals.
So all our forwards are on a very good run. All the players coming off the bench are playing very well. Our attacking players are in very good form. Dembélé scored two hat-tricks, but it’s also all a collective effort.”
Enrique: “Today I’m concentrating on the next match, the Coupe de France”.
Does the fact that Brest were so close to a comeback mean that you’ll have to be extremely wary in the Champions League?
“The two Champions League matches will be totally different and will come down to small details. It’s not a competition that requires regularity like Ligue 1, it’s like the Cup, they’re elimination matches so they’re more difficult.
I know you want to talk about the Champions League, but today I’m concentrating on the next match, the Coupe de France against Le Mans. We’re going to try and recover some energy to prepare for that match, and the Champions League matches are a different story.”
Enrique “He’s the player who came to meet those needs.”
You’ve repositioned Dembélé in the center of the park for better performance, do you have any other examples of players you’ve been able to reposition in your career?
“What Dembélé is achieving is essentially down to his ability as a footballer. He’s a confident player at the moment, who makes a lot of differences in front of goal.
I think the number one objective with Ousmane Dembélé is that he should be able to exploit as many balls as possible. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on one side, in the middle or in the deep. He’s the player who’s come to meet those needs.”
Is this the best advertisement for this Champions League play-off?
“You can be sure that there will be at least one French club in the Round of 8, so that’s a good point. And it has to be said, too, that Lille are in a very good position, as are Monaco. So French clubs are currently at a very high level and that answers the criticisms of some people about Ligue 1.”
