PSG v Chelsea – Luis Enrique: doubts, emotions and style of play | OneFootball

Wednesday, during the first leg of the Round of 16 (return on March 17) of the 2025-2026 Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain (1st in Ligue 1) will face Chelsea (5th in the Premier League) at Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9 PM, broadcast on Canal+). On the eve of this match, Parisian coach Luis Enrique answered several questions in a press conference.

Luis Enrique “We understand everything and accept everything.”

Do you understand the pessimism surrounding PSG?

What I can understand or not is not important. The most important thing is to prepare the match in the best conditions. We understand everything and accept everything. It's normal at PSG to have noise around us.

Is it harder to win the Champions League or to win it again?

That's a good question! I think the first time is more difficult, but the second is not easy (laughs). But I think the first... Now, everyone knows that we can win the second, even if it's not easy.

What have you said to your players since Friday?

A lot of things! It depends on what we think is important. In recent days, we have talked about important topics for the team, individually and collectively. These are key moments of the season. It's nice to prepare for this type of match.

Luis Enrique “We know the difficulty of such a match”

Can Neves be a starter tomorrow?

We'll see tomorrow. I wouldn't want to give any clues to the opponent. But we trained with almost the entire team, except for Fabian Ruiz and Ndjantou. We'll see tomorrow who will start.

Does Chelsea resemble the Premier League teams already faced since last year?

If we talk about English teams, we can see that they all have a very high level. Chelsea, we know very well. We played against them last summer. They have changed, especially the coach but also some players. We know the difficulty of such a match, of the knockout stage. We aim to win and qualify.

Luis Enrique “We must adapt and see the important things during a match.”

Where do you prefer Barcola? He stated he prefers the side.

It doesn't depend on me, but on the team. Most players prefer a position, but the important thing is that no matter where he plays, he can help the team. That's what's important. After that, we must adapt and see the important things during a match.

A rumor says there's less hunger, is it vexing?

I'm never worried about the noise around the team. If there are good results, it's excessive optimism. When there's a bad result, it's pessimism. We're used to handling that.

Luis Enrique “You're looking for the key, but it depends on many things.”

Will the key points be the passes and composure?

What we can guarantee is our mentality and way of playing. After that, to judge a match clearly and sincerely, there are many factors in a match. You're looking for the key, but it depends on many things. For us, what is clear is that we will try to play both matches in the best way.

No matter the result tomorrow, we will prepare in the same way. We always want to play the same way. After that, being precise or daring depends on many things. It's difficult to play this type of match. These will be two very high-level matches.

Luis Enrique “These are very beautiful matches to play, we want to enjoy them.”

There were difficulties in midfield last summer, will the key be the battle in midfield?

There are several important aspects. But it's clear that we like to have more of the ball than the opponent and defend effectively. They have a very good squad. It will be complicated for both teams.

Barcola hasn't scored since one in the Champions League, he seems to lose his nerves in front of the goal. Is there specific work? How did you unlock Dembélé?

What we try to do is manage each moment of difficulty with the team, by being all together. It's not the time to talk about an individual or look for the negative. We want to improve individually and collectively, that's the most important thing.

Luis Enrique “Excess motivation is a problem”

How to be at 400% tomorrow in intensity?

It's very easy. It's a match where there's no need to talk about mentality or motivation, it will be there. It's more about managing the excess. The team will try to win, as usual. And there's a very special Parc des Princes. We're happy to share with our supporters. These are very beautiful matches to play, we want to enjoy them.

Will calmness be the key? With emotion management?

It will be one of the keys that I've seen over many years. In such a match, excess motivation is a problem. We know what type of match we want to play. After that, there's a very high-level opponent to challenge us. It's a very high-level match, we want to enjoy it. We will play it and then analyze it to prepare for the second match. It's very interesting what we will play in the coming days.

Luis Enrique “Last year, we won almost all the trophies and were heavily criticized.”

What do you think of coach Liam Rosenior?

That's a question for Chelsea's management. I think Liam has experience at a high level. The very offensive way of playing at Strasbourg was interesting, there was also a good defense. It's a very important match. It could be very different tomorrow, in another match. We will play our way, we want to beat them by playing football. It will be complicated, but we're eager.

Is Chelsea dangerous, is it a test to show you're the European champion?

We have no doubt. We know our level. We're focused on the positive. There are ups and downs, we don't think about the noise around, there's always some no matter what. Last year, we won almost all the trophies and were heavily criticized. We always prepare in the same way.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.