Paris Saint-Germain won 1-2 against Lens this Saturday at Stade Bollaert on Matchday 18 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. After the match, Paris coach Luis Enrique spoke at a press conference. The Spaniard spoke about the difficulties of the match and the arrival of 23-year-old striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at PSG.
Enrique “It’s always hard to attack an opponent who defends with so much personality”
“It was a hard-fought match tonight, a very difficult match. We’ve played three games against them this season and it’s always been difficult. It’s always hard to attack an opponent who defends with such personality and aggression. The match started well, everything was under control.
We tried to create danger, but we didn’t really succeed. The most complicated part was at the end of the first half when Lens showed themselves to be dangerous, and from the moment they conceded a goal it looked like it was going to be a complicated game. But in the second half we raised our game, looked for depth and were able to show good efficiency. Now we can turn our attention to a competition in which we have high hopes.”
Enrique “Kvaratskhelia is an excellent reinforcement”.
How do you plan to integrate Kvaratskhelia into your playing system?
“As a striker. He’s a player we intended to sign from the start. He has absolutely everything we’re looking for in a recruit. He’s got experience from his youth, he’s got a lot of personality, he can dribble, he can score goals, he’s got defensive ability, so he’s a very good addition.
For a squad that is already excellent, as we saw tonight that without Ousmane Dembélé and Achraf Hakimi, we still had this great ability to play. So I think the attack was very good, but Kvaratskhelia is an excellent reinforcement, who I hope can show us that.”
Enrique “we thought it was better to rest them.”
Will Achraf Hakimi be able to keep his place against Manchester City?
“There’s nothing serious, we didn’t want to take any risks. We didn’t want any injuries. There were some strange situations during the last training session. He’d had a lot of game time so we thought it was better to rest them.”
Enrique “it will do him good in terms of confidence”
Barcola scored the second goal, what did you think of his performance?
“Bradley is having an absolutely outstanding season. He scored and provided an assist on Wednesday and today. It’s been a magnificent season. It’s probably going to be his best season in the pros. Players aren’t machines. You can’t just push a button and it works. You always have to give it your all.
We’re sure he’ll be back, he’s scored in the last two games and that’s going to be good for his confidence. We always have confidence in him and he gives that back by working consistently. Whether he scores more or fewer goals, this is the best season of his young career.”
Enrique: “He’s capable of playing in the triangle”.
What was Nuno Mendes’ role and position tonight?
“It’s this capacity for versatility that he has that prompted me to change his position. He’s very good with and without the ball. He’s one of the players who creates the most imbalance. He’s capable of playing in the triangle, of providing amplitude, of playing as a number 9. For me, he was the player who offers options, and I love that.”
