On Wednesday, in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France 2024-2025, Paris Saint-Germain (1st in Ligue 1) take on Stade Briochin (11th) at Roazhon Park (kick-off 9.10pm, UTC+1). On the eve of the match, Paris coach Luis Enrique answered a number of questions at a press conference.
Luis Enrique “He’s a present-day player for us.”
How can Mayulu become even more important?
Mayulu is a PSG trainee. He’s one of the youngsters with the highest potential. He’s been with us this season, and has already played almost 1,000 minutes. I really like his profile, his ability with and without the ball. He’s a real player for us.
How have you prepared the team athletically? Have you focused on it in particular?
It’s a constant in my staff: physical preparation is part of an overall context. We don’t take risks with the players. Injuries often come from blows, that’s part of soccer. But we take great care of our players. They run a lot, because they enjoy themselves.
Are you close to your ideal with PSG?
I don’t have an ideal, it doesn’t exist. Soccer demands continuous effort and dedication. The slightest slackening and everything goes to hell. We all want to improve all the time.
Luis Enrique: “We can change naturally”.
How can the end of the match against Lyon be useful for the future?
Any aspect that can be improved is useful for the future. But after analyzing the match, being cold, it’s only 5 minutes during which we didn’t know how to defend. But the rest was exceptional on a complicated pitch. We want to change that, we’ve talked about it. But the team played a great game in Lyon.
How do you manage your playing time in preparation for Liverpool? Are these the 2 games together?
I’ll manage it as I always do. There’s a plan. The most important thing is tomorrow’s game, but there’s always a global vision. The plan is flexible. It’s important for us to have the confidence to face these games.
There are a lot of us, with a lot of players who can change positions. We can change naturally. We want to get the right amount of playing time to face Liverpool.
Luis Enrique “It’s not possible to relax.”
Is Ramos a good joker or does he deserve more?
I said neither. He’s important no matter how much playing time he gets. Even when he’s not playing. He’s at the service of the team. His ratio has been exceptional and we hope he’ll keep it up. I’m delighted to have him.
What tactical and mental precautions should you take against a team from a lower division?
That’s easy to see in the Coupe de France, because we’ve seen the majority of Ligue 1 teams eliminated. We suffered against Espaly and Le Mans, especially Espaly. It’s not possible to relax. We’re hoping that the pitch will allow us to play a good match. We’re going to suffer tomorrow, that’s for sure. That’s inherent in the Coupe de France.
Luis Enrique “Widening the pitch allows us to have solutions.”
How will the match against Lyon help prepare for the one against Liverpool?
There’s no transmission from one match to the other. They’re different competitions. We want our team to be competitive, whatever the opponent. We show positive characteristics. We always put in the same intensity, even if the result may vary, we always have a high level of competition.
Doué says you’re asking him to enlarge the pitch.
It’s a very basic thing for someone who has possession. The aim in preparing every match is to use the head, to have physical and technical ability, but also to understand the game.
The more you use the pitch, the harder it is for your opponents to defend. It’s hard for some players, but not for Doué. Widening the pitch gives us solutions.
Luis Enrique “You also need the structure to press.”
Is it about making the match hell for the opposition?
It’s all relative. Because when you have the ball, you have to see where you are. When you play at your opponent’s place, you can expand the pitch. So there will be spaces somewhere, depending on the opponent. As we have the ball, we need to understand these situations. What should we do depending on the opponent?
We use mobility and changing positions to create favorable situations. Then there’s the technical quality of the players, so as not to lose the ball and when to dribble. You also need structure to press forward. Once you’ve got the hang of it, everything seems simple.
Luis Enrique “We have the confidence and hope to win before.”
A trick match?
Without a doubt. Even if all matches are traps. It’s rare in soccer for the fact of being favourites to be confirmed. Sometimes a team can win by attacking very little.
Do you practice penalty shoot-outs?
We can train on anything. But conditions are always changing, so it’s hard to recreate the context in training. We have the confidence and hope to win beforehand. But we know which players are generally in the best condition to shoot. After that, you have to ask at the time, because a player may not be in the right conditions.
