On Friday, during Matchday 8 of Ligue 1 2025-2026, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) will face Strasbourg (3rd) at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 8:45 p.m., CET). On the eve of this match, Parisian coach Luis Enrique answered several questions at a press conference.
Luis Enrique: “There are different situations to analyze individually.”
Is the return from the international break a new chapter with the returns from injuries?
They’re always surprises during an international break. We have to wait for the players to return and see how they are. I don’t know for everyone yet. There are different situations to analyze individually.
Is Pacho the best defender in the world?
That’s the problem when you’re trying to be honest: next week, we’ll talk about Marquinhos, then someone else. This is not the time to talk. We’re at the beginning of the season. To analyze a player, a team, you have to wait until the end of the season and see how they’re performing. I can only say positive things about Pacho, but this isn’t the time to analyze each player individually.
Luis Enrique: “Today is the first and last training session of the week.”
Are Doué and Marquinhos ready for tomorrow?
I don’t know. There’s the medical update, and the difference is what I want on the pitch. Today is the first and last training session of the week. We need to talk to the players to find out how they feel. But it’s good news to know they’re ready.
Do you still do as much sport as you did when you were a player?
I can’t. I’m 55, I’m more of a grandfather (smiles). I do what sport I can and I’m active; I like to play sport. It’s important to me.
Do you feel like the worst is over with the injuries?
No, I don’t know what will happen in the future. We’ll be ready to handle both positive and negative things in the best possible way. I hope there will be as few injuries as possible, but I can’t guarantee that.
Has Barcola been injured since the Atalanta match?
That doesn’t interest me. There’s always a lot of noise around a top club. I’m only interested in the players’ level and their health.
Luis Enrique: “There’s medical fitness, that’s a benchmark for training. But then you have to see what happens on the pitch.”
Will your approach be different for returns from injury? Will you be taking more precautions? Is Dembélé expected to return before the break?
I don’t know what day that will be. But it’s easy. There are training sessions to see the players’ level. Normally, we’re a staff that tries not to take risks with the players’ health. But injuries are part of football. You have to accept that. But we still have the same mentality, like other coaches: we want to improve the players’ health.
When you get players back and they train, it’s easy to see when they’re ready. I can see it. There’s medical fitness, that’s a benchmark for training. But then you have to see what happens on the pitch.
Are young players ready earlier than before in football?
I think a 30-year-old player is always young. We have one of the youngest squads, but all the professional players are young and ready to recover. They’re professionals.
What ingredients should we bring to the table against Strasbourg? A good one before the Champions League?
It’s always difficult after the international break. Strasbourg and its coach have a very good team, and they have the results. It will be more complicated than usual. They’re also a very young team. We’re back, we want to play these matches with results. But we’re starting with one of the toughest matches.
Luis Enrique: “It’s top-level sport. You have to learn to live with it.”
Strasbourg and then the Champions League on Tuesday, does a return match change anything?
No, nothing. We’re used to it. We have a full training session before the return, then it’s recovery and a little preparation before the next match. It’s not a tough training session, with a lot of tactical work. But it doesn’t change anything; we’re used to preparing this way. It’s a little less good to prepare like that.
Do these injuries also allow players to rest? Is it nature taking over?
That’s nature, football. An injury has several factors. Whether there’s a defeat or a victory, it’s the same. The difficulty is knowing where the opportunities are to improve. But we’re used to overcoming these situations. This is elite sport. You have to learn to live with it.
Luis Enrique: “We have confidence in Gonçalo.”
Are you satisfied with Gonçalo Ramos?
Of course. He’s an important player for us. He’s a professional player, and I’m very happy with his performances. You judge players on their performances, their output; strikers have different phases. We have confidence in Gonçalo.
Do you feel like you have a mental advantage over the opponent, regardless of your absences?
You have to ask them. We want to prepare for every match the same way. When everyone’s there, it’s great. Otherwise, we have to prepare well too. Since we started here, we’ve always tried to do the same thing: have the ability to manage matches and be dominant. That’s important for us; it’s our mentality. But we have to adapt every year; our opponents analyze, and we still have to improve.
