Luis Enrique admits PSG struggled to stop one Barcelona star in last night’s win | OneFootball

FC Barcelona faced a familiar foe in their latest UEFA Champions League outing, as they went head-to-head with Paris Saint-Germain. The Parisians are now led by former Blaugrana coach Luis Enrique, a figure who remains deeply admired in Catalonia despite having left the club several years ago.

The Spanish tactician has never hidden his affection for Barcelona, yet his delight was evident after guiding PSG to a dramatic late victory at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, speaking to the media after the match, Enrique praised the overall quality of the contest, but his words carried special weight when he turned the spotlight on Pedri. The Spanish coach openly admitted that the 22-year-old midfielder was almost impossible to contain:

“Making mistakes is normal, but what’s clear is that, along with Pedri, Vitinha is the best midfielder in the world. It was very difficult to stop Pedri today. It’s beautiful to face these players because they push my footballers to surpass themselves. On top of that, we had academy players aged 17 or 18 out there, and that’s wonderful.”

Those remarks highlight just how highly Enrique rates the Canary Islander. While PSG eventually came out on top, Enrique’s acknowledgment underlines Pedri’s growing influence at the very highest level of European football.

Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images for Qatar Airways

Pedri’s ability to dictate tempo, find space between the lines, and create danger was such that even one of the sharpest tactical minds in the game could not ignore it. Enrique even linked Pedri’s brilliance to PSG’s own development, explaining that facing players of such quality forces his squad to raise their own standards.

While PSG celebrated another big European win, Enrique’s praise made one thing clear: Pedri’s influence is growing to the point where even the victors are left talking about him.

For Barcelona, that recognition is both a point of pride and a reminder of how vital the midfielder will be if they are to go deep in this season’s competition.