Paris Saint-Germain lost 1-2 to Atlético de Madrid (PSG/Atlético de Madrid video summary) this Wednesday at the Parc des Princes as part of matchday 4 of the Champions League 2024-2025 league phase. After the match, Paris coach Luis Enrique spoke in press conférence+. The Spaniard expressed his frustration, and that of his players, at a result he considers “inexplicable”.
Enrique “The word that best defines them is inexplicable”.
PSG are 25th in the standings in this Champions League phase, with the schedule ahead do you consider your team’s qualification in danger?
“Without a doubt.”
How do you explain this lack of efficiency in front of goal once again?
“Truly, I’d have to watch the match in depth to answer that question. But it’s inexplicable what’s happened to us in these three Champions League games. The three games we played at home. The word that best defines them is inexplicable, but it could also be unfair.”
Enrique “We need 20 clear chances to score and the opponent sneezes and he scores.”
Do these three Champions League games, with all these chances created, change your philosophy on the number 9 position?
“To tell the truth the person responsible for creating 50 goal-scoring chances in three games is the team and the person responsible for these defeats is the coach. If we’re not getting these results, it’s my fault. There’s no doubt about that.
Now I’m going to do what I think is best for my team, so that they continue to create goal-scoring opportunities, continue to be better than their opponents, but it’s inexplicable.
How do you explain this run of three Champions League games in which we’ve been so much better than the opposition and only have four goals at the end? It seems like a bad joke. Today I’m feeling really bad, and it’s the same for my players.
Tomorrow we’ll have to analyze the match with a cool head and get back up after all that. It’s difficult, but we’ll keep trying until the end. But today it was unbelievable how we conceded those goals. We need 20 clear chances to score, and the opposition sneeze and score. It’s the same dynamic every time. We have to accept it and get back up.”
Enrique: “Football doesn’t reward chances, it rewards goals”.
What emotional state are you in? You’re the team that concedes the fewest goal-scoring chances in the Champions League, and you’re the second team that creates the most. Isn’t that down to a lack of a striker?
“Bring him to me, if you have him. Where do I get this striker from? Those are the Champions League stats, and from there I’m sticking to my ideas. The day I fail in soccer will be with my ideas, not those of a journalist or another coach. It’s these ideas that have brought me to this point and it’s these ideas that I’ll continue to follow.
I have no doubt that we are on the right path in a series that is improbable and probably unprecedented. But it’s real. Football doesn’t reward chances, it rewards goals. And that’s something we’re certainly aware of and need to improve. Me first.”
Enrique: “I can only speak highly of my players”.
Your players often made the wrong decisions in the final movement and were wait-and-see in defense. Is that the explanation for tonight’s defeat?
“No, really, the goal was a joke. They never came close to our penalty area and now they’ve scored. Obviously it’s a dynamic that hurts. I can’t say enough wonderful things about my players.
With all the complications that arose over the course of the match, with that goal that hurt us and above all a goal where the opponent did nothing, but once again we have to accept it. I repeat, that’s soccer.
My faith in my players, in the team, is unshakeable, but unfortunately there was that second goal waiting to happen and it puts us in an even more difficult situation. A point less than we thought we’d get, but I repeat, there are four games left and we’ll be working right up to the end. If we qualify very well, if not, the measures that need to be taken will be taken – there’s no doubt about that.”
Enrique “I repeat that I have unshakeable faith in my players.”
“I’m not in the world of soccer being afraid, so I’ll go forward until the last minute and the day we can’t go any further we’ll stop. But I repeat that I have unshakeable faith in my players.
In the Parc des Princes no one gives up, they sing until the end. And we’ll keep trying until the last minute. But in the series we’re in at the moment, I can’t guarantee qualification. The figures are there and they reflect our situation.”
Enrique “it takes more than one player to change this kind of dynamic”
Why did you decide to give Kolo Muani some game time tonight?
“Because of the situation of the match. I saw Atlético bunched up at the back and each team using their arguments. They maintained this line of 5 until the end and we had to try and have a more attacking profile.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to score, but I liked his attitude, he’s a top-class player, there’s no doubt about that. But it takes more than one player to change this kind of dynamic, I guarantee it.”
Can there be a psychological aspect for players in front of goal?
“It’s the same when you concede an unfair goal. That’s why I always try to say the opposite of what you say, because you always see things in a negative light and that’s logical, it’s your job. But of course it affects people, enormously.
The entourage, the fans, the players, the coach. Of course it affects us. But as long as I have the energy I’ll say the opposite of what you’re saying to protect my team, my club and my players.”
Enrique: “We’re going to prepare these Champions League matches like 4 finals”.
Some will say it’s a logical defeat, when you create so many chances without scoring, and when you’re a coach like yourself with so much experience, what do you say to these young players to keep them at the top level?
“I never talk to the players at the end of the match. I don’t get together with the team because there’s nothing left to fix at that point. It’s too late. You have to calm down at that point, lower the level of negative energy.
But tomorrow we’ll talk. We’ll see what we can improve and we’ll prepare these Champions League matches as 4 finals, because that’s what it’s all about.”
Enrique “What’s certain is that we should have won all three of our home games”
What are the chances of PSG failing to qualify for the rest of the Champions League?
“I don’t know. Right from the start, this competition got off to a strange start, with an abnormal draw for a team in hat one. What’s certain is that we should have won our three home games and won them easily. So if the dynamic is like this, it’s going to be difficult.”
