This Tuesday at 9 p.m. (CET), Paris Saint-Germain will face Bayern Munich at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their 2025-2026 Champions League semi-final (second leg on May 6). On the eve of this match, PSG coach Luis Enrique will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. You can follow the event live here (we will publish a full transcript afterward):
Kompany: “Both teams have an incredible amount of creativity.”
“How do you defend against PSG’s attack?
I can turn the question around: what do they do with our attackers? It works both ways. Both teams have an incredible amount of creativity, including in terms of positioning and finding solutions. It’s all in the details, the intensity, and the energy. We’ve played each other four times now. We have experience against them, but so does our opponent.”
Kompany: “I wasn’t surprised they won the Champions League.”
Luis Enrique?
He’s doing an incredible job. A year and a half ago, when we beat Paris, a swarm of journalists criticized Luis Enrique. But I already sensed back then what kind of team they had, and that something was happening here. They had a young team, but they sent a clear message. I wasn’t surprised they won the Champions League. You can see there’s a real team spirit in Luis Enrique’s teams. His players run, they fight – he does that with all his teams, a huge compliment to him.
Kompany: “If any team can rise to this challenge, it’s us.”
Last year’s elimination?
The players don’t look back that far. Everything that happened last season and everything we’ve achieved so far is the result of our own efforts. You always have to examine what lessons you can learn from it. Our team has already won at the Bernabéu this year and won in Paris. Paris are obviously still the defending Champions League holders, but if any team can rise to this challenge, it’s us. We know how strong Paris is, but we want this victory. “
Vincent Kompany’s message is quite clear: Bayern Munich knows PSG’s strength, but doesn’t intend to enter the Parc des Princes with the handbrake on. The Bavarian coach emphasized the creativity of both teams, the expected intensity, and those details that can decide a Champions League semi-final.
Above all, he paid a true tribute to Luis Enrique’s work, highlighting the collective spirit, the effort, and the progress of a Parisian squad he saw already gaining momentum before their European triumph. But this respect doesn’t resemble excessive caution.
Kompany also reminded everyone that his team has already won in big stadiums this season and that it has the tools to meet the Parisian challenge. Perhaps this is where the true tone of this semi-final lies: two teams that respect each other, but neither wants to play the role of polite bystander. PSG impresses, Bayern lives up to its reputation.” In short, the scene is set: no need to add anything more, the field will speak for itself.
