With a spicy schedule and after a defeat against Arsenal, PSG already has no room for error against PSV this Tuesday.
“I would have preferred to have an easier schedule”. This is what Luis Enrique said at the time of the draw for this new formula Champions League. Except that we don’t always get what we want. And Paris Saint-Germain inherited a difficult program. As a reminder, the first eight teams in the ranking at the end of the eight days will advance to the round of 16. The next 16 will have to go through play-offs and those ranked 25th to 36th and last place will have finished their C1 campaign. A priori, not too much risk of finishing in the last third for PSG. The prospect of competing in the play-offs, however, is not encouraging.
And when we know that Paris, beaten on the field of Arsenal (2-0) at the beginning of October, has a meeting with teams of the caliber of Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, we say to ourselves that this will not be easy to be part of the Top 8. For this, it is advisable to stock up against the «small». And again, everything is relative. The Parisians have already paid to see, with a miraculous victory against Girona (1-0). They will go to Salzburg and Stuttgart, who host PSV Eindhoven this Tuesday (9 p.m.), on the third day.
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Last season, PSV Eindhoven were the best team in the Netherlands. This year, they are having an incredible start to the season if we look at the numbers.
Luis Enrique
Led by the Dutch internationals Johan Bakayoko and Luuk de Jong or the ex-Niçois Walter Benitez and Olivier Boscagli, the Dutch champions started the season in the super Eredivisie (9 victories), they who are chasing a first success in C1 (1 draw, 1 defeat). “Last season they were the best team in the Netherlands. This year, they are having an incredible start to the season if we look at the numbers”summarizes Luis Enrique, describing “a very high level team. They play far from their goal, put pressure high, play the ball very well and defend well.. The Spanish coach is not worried about a lack of motivation: “It’s a competition that all players want to play in and so it’s very easy to prepare for these matches”.
Kang-in Lee is in good shape at the start of the season: “All matches are important when you wear the PSG jersey, in the Coupe de France, Ligue 1 or the Champions League. All matches are finals”. This is how the young Parisian squad will have to approach this Franco-Dutch duel. A youth which is, obviously, anything but an asset at this stage of the competition. The new sports policy decreed by the Parisian management, oriented towards the collective more than individuals, neither. In any case not in the short term, even if the project is intelligent and interesting if we take a step back and plan for the longer term.
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Youth card
“Our team was already young last season, it still is but with more experience”notes Luis Enrique. And to add, to explain the ins and outs of the club’s policy: “When we prepare for a season, there are a lot of players that we cannot buy because they are very expensive, we cannot overpay. Faced with this, we have to make do with what we have, signing the best young people, it’s easier and cheaper than the best veterans. There is the possibility of creating a complete squad to aim for all the titles. We did it last year, we’re doing it again”. Note that the Asturian technician does not complain about the choices of his management. Otherwise, he would not have extended his lease until 2027 like various sources, including Le Figaroannounced it.
In the meantime, PSG has not become a second-rate team. All the opposing coaches who follow one another on the stand assure that the Rouge et Bleu are better than last year on a collective level. “It’s a pleasure to receive praise from opponents but we have to concentrate on the idea of progressing and we will see with the figures if we will actually be better at the end of the season”affirms Luis Enrique, who recovers Randal Kolo Muani and will only be deprived of long-term absentees (Ramos, Hernandez, Kimpembe).
No more superstar politics? Ousmane Dembélé is, however, not a clown. Top scorer in Ligue 1, Bradley Barcola neither. The two greatest offensive assets of a Paris-SG which again scored with four different scorers on Saturday, against Strasbourg (4-2). And without a professional number 9. Marco Asensio stuck to it. Kang-in Lee has done it too in recent weeks. “When I play in 9, Luis Enrique asks me for a lot of mobility, freedom. We can thus create spaces, opportunities and score more goals.notes the South Korean golden goose. “The important thing is not who scores, who makes the assist, but the overall mentality to be the best team offensively and defensively. The one who scores is someone from the group, but there is a lot of collective work upstream”.
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Where you see doubts, I see growth, potential, optimism.
Luis Enrique
The fact remains that PSG is expected to turn the corner, facing the team of Peter Bosz, the former coach of Olympique Lyonnais. Marquinhos and company must show that it is wrong to think that they are strong with the weak and weak with the strong. “With the C1 format, each match at home has even more importance. But it’s also important for PSV.”slips Luis Enrique, 54, not forgetting that the Eindhoven club only has one small point on the clock. And to continue: “We all need points. We will play with a lot of motivation and optimism to win.”
Speaking of optimism, Luis Enrique, who had plenty of time to rest certain executives on Saturday at the Parc des Princes (Dembélé, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Mendes) before a week which will end on Sunday evening at the Vélodrome stadium, facing the OM, don’t miss it. “Where you see doubts, I see growth, potential, optimism. I see what my team is transmitting. There are a lot of things to improve but I am very optimistic. I like what I see, the start of the season. The C1 is very difficult, that’s for sure, and there will be less good results in this competition, but we will want to obtain a positive result at home.he insists. All that’s left to do is.
