Paris Saint-Germain hosted FC Barcelona this Tuesday for the third matchday of the Champions League group stage, securing a 4-2 victory. Following the match, PSG head coach Luis Enrique spoke to PSG TV about the win.
Luis Enrique: “It’s always positive to win against a team of this caliber.”
“What an atmosphere! The tifos from our supporters were incredible, as always. I think we saw two teams playing football at an incredible, attacking level. We showed our true quality. It was a tight match; I thought we played an exceptional first half, though we struggled during the first fifteen minutes of the second. It was difficult to maintain our level, but afterwards, we created more scoring opportunities and managed to win the game. It’s just three points, but it’s always positive to win against a team of this caliber.”
Luis Enrique: “We’re very happy—now we have to keep it going.”
“You have to overcome difficult moments in a match, especially when playing against a side of this quality. It’s similar to what happened last year against Arsenal and Bayern Munich: there are times when the opponent finds solutions that force you to defend in a deep block. That’s not our goal, but we managed to overcome it. The players who came off the bench performed at a very high level and gave us a real boost. We’re very happy—now we have to keep it going.”
A great victory for PSG, who triumphed at home against an FC Barcelona side that had remained undefeated until this point in the season. While the Blaugranas managed to hold their own against this Parisian side—notably by coming from behind twice—they were ultimately overwhelmed by the collective strength of the Parisians in the closing stages of the match. Against a PSG side of this caliber, it is inevitably a massive challenge for any team to remain competitive for the full 90 minutes.
Although there is still a long way to go this season, the power of the Rouge et Bleu—the clear favorites to retain their Champions League title—is evident. They will need to keep working week after week to maintain this momentum heading into the knockout stages. At the same time, their current performances prove that Luis Enrique’s strategy of refreshing the squad is paying off, allowing PSG to dream even bigger.
