Why Luis Enrique’s PSG are unbeaten in Ligue 1 but still not confident to consider themselves favourites against Arsenal in Champions League

Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain are aiming for a quadruple of trophies, unprecedented in French football hory. While the French leaders remain unbeaten in Ligue 1, all eyes are on how the side fares in Champions League after they had the spotlight not hammering down on them like when Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé played for them.But Enrique has been waving away all suggestions that PSG might start as favourites in the Champions League against Arsenal.
‘It wouldn’t be fair to think that we’re always going to crush our opponents and that we’re the only team in the Champions League and we are the favourites. No one at PSG believes it either, not the players, not the coach, we are one of four favourites to win this cup because we have done well throughout the season,” he stated.
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PSG play Reims in the final of the Coupe de France and, depending on what happens against Arsenal on 29 April and 7 May, there could be an appearance in the final of the Champions League on 31 May in Munich.
‘I think it’s also important for us to be the only team that was in the last four last year and this year we are there again,” the manager said after his side faced a typical scare against relegation-bound Le Havre. It’s been that sort of a mixed season, where no one can quote vouch for their solidity, yet they remain alive in all 4 trophy contentions.
‘There were 10 minutes at the start of the second half where the opponent was very close to equalising the tie but they didn’t do it,” Enrique said after the latest recovery from a stumble. “I liked the attitude of my players, their behaviour, it’s true we made some makes but it’s a game where you make makes sometimes,’ he said. ‘There are things to improve without a doubt but most of what I saw and what I analysed was positive.
Désiré Doué and Gonçalo Ramos scored to help PSG ward off Le Havre 2-1 at the Parc des Princes to continue their pursuit of an unbeaten run. After Mbappé’s departure (taking his 27 goals eith him), 18 different men compiled 82 goals in 29 games with France internationals Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola emerging as the most prolific. Dembélé has 21 and Barcola 13.Story continues below this ad
“I am very lucky to have the profile of players with such intelligence and versatility that they are also able to attack and defend as one,” Enrique said. “When I see the team play as a collective in attack and defence, it means that when I asked for 11 players attacking and defending, it came true,”
But the nearly men of Champions League over last few seasons, cannot forget how things go awry. “However, we can’t forget anything,” the 54-year-old Spaniard said. “We’re not unbeatable. We never have been. We have to work so we are ready to face any situation. But of course, it’s easier to work on things that are working,” he said.
Enrique takes all criticism head on. “I have been one of the most criticised coaches in Europe due to my selections. I have made a lot of changes, I was fully criticised in Rome, Paris, Barcelona, so everyone usually tells me I am replacing too many players,” he said, of the common refrains.
PSG have won 24 and drawn five of their 29 games this Ligue 1 campaign amassing 77 out of a possible 87 points. Talking to RFI over the weekend, he said, “It’s a source of motivation. We could have slipped up against Le Havre. They’re at the foot of the table and we’re already champions but I think the players’ approach was superb. They showed the right mentality. We’re Ligue 1 champions, that’s a goal we’ve achieved but there’s a record can be broken,” said Enrique.Story continues below this ad
The Champions League however has eluded the team even with the mega stars, and with the coherent unit currently ooerating. They have made the semis for the fourth time in six years and finished runners up to Bayern Munich in 2020. Enrique when asked in a recent press conference about what his goals were since arriving in Paris in the summer of 2023, was direct. “I don’t consider myself successful. I’m here to write hory and do all I can to win this famous trophy.”
Enrique however has a high hurdle to navigate in Arsenal, having lost to then in October. “We haven’t achieved our objective yet,” he said this week. “Since we arrived, our objective has been to make hory. To make hory, you have to win everything, especially the trophy you all know. We’re going to give everything we’ve got to achieve that. What’s important to me is the road to get there. It depends on us.”
He hailed Arsenal as one of the best teams in Europe after they drubbed Real Madrid but didn’t see any dinct advantage in playing two Premiership teams after Aston Villa. ‘No, well, it is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. It is obvious that there is a pattern that can be common among English teams. But in this case, we have faced Liverpool and Arsenal already, it has been seven or eight months, also Aston Villa, and now it is Arsenal once again. We know who was eliminated Arsenal, we are in the last four, so against one of the best teams in Europe. It’s a team that has had a very good evolution with Mikel Arteta over the last few seasons and they’re performing very, very well.”