Luis Enrique: ‘They are a top side’ | OneFootball

The Paris Saint-Germain coach answered questions from PSG TV and the press before his side’s Matchday 7 clash against OGC Nice, scheduled for Sunday 6 October at 20:45 at the Allianz Riviera.

The defeat in London

'When there is a defeat, the main person responsible is me. It’s always the coach. I want to protect my players. I trust Gigio Donnarumma based on what I see in training and in matches. The only one to blame, if you need to point fingers, is me. Defeats can also be positive because they highlight the areas we need to work on for future matches.

We work on all phases of the game that we consider important. For the first goal, it was a defensive error by the whole team. When you lose, you shouldn’t single out one person, just as when you win, all the credit doesn’t go to the player who scored. To be able to score, I need my goalkeeper to start the play, my defence, my midfield, the player who makes the decisive pass... You shouldn’t only look at the dessert, but the whole meal. You should never blame or praise just one individual.'

The power dynamic with arsenal

'After analysing the match with the benefit of hindsight, I think Arsenal were better in certain areas, even though we were also able to challenge them. I believe we were very close to Arsenal's level. Mikel Arteta has been leading his team for 5 years, Pep Guardiola has been in charge at City for a long time... We've been here for only 1 year and 3 months.

I wake up every morning with the desire to win every competition. But to achieve that, there's a process to follow, and we're only at the beginning. At this level, you can't always get a favourable result. We are not perfect and we never will be, but we will keep working and fighting because I feel my group has that mindset.'

The week’s training

'This week, we worked on the beginning phases of play as well as on defensive and attacking set pieces. Generally, it’s the opponents who tend to adapt to our game since we have more possession. But within the same match, there are often many different scenarios depending on how the score evolves. So, we try to prepare ourselves as best as possible for all those scenarios.'

The summer recruits

'The four players who joined this summer (Matvey Safonov, Willian Pacho, Joao Neves and Désiré Doué) have integrated even faster than we expected. They understand the club’s demands, and I’m really happy with these four signings.'

The match against Le Gym

“Nice changed coaches this summer. Franck Haise is a well-respected coach, with a very clear style of play. After their defeat in Rome, I think they will be eager to bounce back tomorrow against us. They are a top side with excellent pressing and strengths both in attack and defence. It will be a tough match for us as well as for them, and we’ll see how we manage it.'

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