This Wednesday at 9pm Paris Saint-Germain (22nd) take on Stuttgart (24th) at the Mercedes-Benz Arena as part of matchday 8 of the Champions League 2024-2025 league phase. At a press conference, German coach Sebastian Hoeness spoke about the match, including a question about a “draw” target, as this would be enough to ensure qualification.
Hoeness “we’ll have to put up with their game sometimes. Everything else doesn’t matter.”
“Luis Enrique’s Paris?
For me, PSG are a soccer team of exceptional quality. They’ve demonstrated their ability to dominate their matches. They’re a very strong team. We have a huge task ahead of us.
Should we aim for a draw to qualify?
I wouldn’t play for a draw. We want to prepare as well as possible and play our game. Against an opponent like that, you have to put up with their game sometimes. Everything else is irrelevant.”
There’s no question of Hoeness pretending that the match against PSG could be easy. Despite some criticism from “specialists”, the Parisian team is mostly applauded by their opponents. Not for nothing. The German coach was able to analyze the matches with Luis Enrique and undoubtedly saw real collective qualities.
Victory will inevitably be hard to come by, but Stuttgart must go for it if they are to progress in this competition. We need ambition. Especially as a draw is the best way to end up on the losing side.
However, without it being publicly announced, it’s safe to assume that the standings will be very much on people’s minds. Stuttgart and PSG could adapt as the match goes on, depending on the scenario. That’s part of soccer too. Even if the aim will be to play as well as possible in order to win and move up the rankings.
