“There is nothing to protect, you have to play and have fun”, Luis Enrique does not want to calculate in Lens with a view to City

The maturity level of the team : “The team is in one of the best moments of its season based on what I see in training”.

If he already feels like a champion (the Ligue 1 ranking here): “No. Marseille is seven points away. Monaco, ten. The schedule is very demanding, there are a lot of points to take to be champion of France.

Nuno Mendes disturbed by his contractual situation : “No, I see it as usual, it’s a question to ask him more than me but I see him as usual.” (Editor's note: under contract until 2026, Mendes finally refused the Parisian extension offer, it is said that Manchester United is pushing to recruit him)

We are very motivated.

Luis Enrique before Lens-PSG

The third match against RC Lens since the start of the season : “Every match was different against Lens. The first was a team that pressed a lot. In the Coupe de France, they waited longer. It will be difficult again tomorrow (Saturday) and in a very special stadium, with a great atmosphere. We are very motivated. (…) Tomorrow, we will see a very good match, as intense and difficult as the two previous ones against Lensois.”

Players spared before City : “There is nothing to protect, you have to play football and have fun.”

If he expects a recruit this Friday : “You can answer it, say whatever seems most appropriate to you, I have nothing to say about it (smile).” (Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is expected in Paris in the coming hours, Editor’s note)

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“There's more than just football in life”: Barcola talks about his difficulties at PSG… before the competition Kvaratskhelia

Bradley behaves as usual, but I completely agree with him if he says that football is not the most important thing in life.

Luis Enrique

On the personal problems mentioned by Bradley Barcola after Espaly : “I didn’t hear those words. Bradley behaves as usual, but I completely agree with him if he says that football is not the most important thing in life. There is a phrase that I really like: “football is the most important thing among the unimportant things in life”. It's not serious. We can sometimes be in better or worse shape. This is normal in football. But again, I see it as usual. He found his way to the goal (against Espaly), he delivered assists. His confidence may rise. He will improve. I am very happy with his progress since last season. It's the same message for all players: they can all have ups and downs. Their performances are never linear, nothing is, and especially not in high-level competition.”

Barcola potentially on the right : “As always, I am open to all possibilities within the team. He is a player who can play in all three attacking positions, without a doubt, on the left as usual, but also on the right, as I saw him do in the U21 selection and with us. He could also play as a number 9. I like his versatility. The objective is to continue to use players according to the interests of the team.

Who will replace Marquinhos as a right-handed central defender if Milan Skriniar leaves? : “We can play with two left-footed center backs. It's a bit of a cliché to think that you have to play with a left-hander and a right-hander. Moreover, I note that we are never surprised to see two right-handed centrals associated, but it is less usual to see two left-handers… For us, there is no problem in the planning of our team. We will see at the end of the transfer window how many players left and if we were able to bring any in.”

Strikes from afar : “It’s obviously a priority, all ways of scoring are essential. We play association football but we have to use all the arguments, going through the axis or the corridors, long shots, set pieces, crosses… As a coach, I don't limit my players . Different things happen depending on the player profiles you choose. But I'm happy because we have players who can score from afar. You have to have different options, it’s positive for the team.”

We would prefer to arrive at the Champions League match with a victory in our bag.

Luis Enrique

Mandatory positive performance in Lens before City : “We are in a good dynamic. Obviously, we see the importance of the City match, which you (the journalists) have been talking to me about for several weeks. But I don't think it will have any impact on the result. We would prefer to arrive at the Champions League match with a victory in our bag. We will then have plenty of time to talk about the match against City, the one in Stuttgart. We are not fleeing the situation, we are in it because of our performance. But we are prepared and very optimistic about what is to come.”

Competition within the group : “How do we determine who will be the holder? These are very diverse reasons… For example, if I have six attacking players and some are on fire in training, I make them play more matches. If there is some form of equality between them, I like to make a turnover. The important thing is that the team is solid, compact, that it has several possibilities and that it can use this turnover so that the players gain confidence. Of course, if a player is in a state of grace, I try to use him more. I like what I've seen over the last three or four weeks, with players who are almost all capable of playing. So I think this competition exists. And when there is competition, the players have a higher output and that's when the team has more options.

On which positions he is waiting for reinforcements : “(we remind him of his wish to have two players per position) This is a goal that we cannot build in the first or second season, probably not the third either. We cannot recruit unlimitedly. Financial fair play must be respected. There need to be departures for there to be arrivals. The long-term objective is indeed to have two players per position and that everyone can play but I know that it is practically impossible.

Vitinha is a vital player.

Luis Enrique

Vitinha : “Would it have been me who took away the keys? He has the same role as last season, that of a key player, he is an important player, of a very high level. The evolution of the team and his own are positive. I like what I see, beyond the fact that he scores more or fewer goals. It all depends on the matches. But his performances in the current season and the previous one show that he is at the highest level. I hope he continues like this. If he can improve the statistical aspect, even better. But he is a vital player. Whether he has more or less presence in the opponent's half of the field depends on certain circumstances, but we are not asking him not to go into the opponent's half. We are always open to the player improving his performance, that’s our goal.”

Comments collected at a press conference