Not really upset but rather fatalistic after the draw of his team against Reims (1-1), Luis Enrique spoke of the difficulties to unravel a low block or the first of the Khvicha Kvaratskhelia recruit during his press conference, but Not only. Here are his full comments, translated by us.
Should we seek in the energy that you may have left on Wednesday, or in other reasons, to explain the fact that Paris failed to ignite and have the same match as against City?
“We have achieved our goal of managing this week in the best possible way”
“This match is part of a particular context in terms of calendar, namely between two Champions League matches, which can destabilize. I did not find that the team lacked energy. I would even say that I found it good. However, we made six changes, more than 50 % of the team. We have achieved our goal of managing this week in the best possible way to be ready for matches.
Today, we already knew that it would be very difficult because (Reims) is an adversary who defends very well, particularly against us, and has already been able to obtain good results (here). The key to this match was our ability to materialize the few opportunities we would have. The second half started very well and we were able to score a goal. Too bad we could not hold this score and that they were able to mark ten minutes later. This match was complicated and difficult since the first minute but we knew in advance that it would be hard. »»
Apart from the result this evening, you have generally dominated the Stade de Reims and would no doubt have deserved to win. Are you satisfied with the performance of your players given the calendar, the deadlines in the Champions League and your advance in the ranking?
“I heard that Reims deserved to win the match?” (The translator rectifies) Ah, I understood that Reims had deserved to win the match and I was going to answer that I had not seen the same thing in fact. We had a global idea, before the match of course, a goal. But faced with the difficulties imposed by the opponent and his merit – for me Reims played a very complete match defensively – it was difficult for us to create opportunities when we are a team that creates a lot.
But I have nothing to blame my players. I believe they have put all the attitude, the ambition and the will to win people. We have tried several approaches but these opponents know very well counterattack and defend in number, with all the players, in a low block. There were practically no spaces and in this kind of case, you have to find solutions and be effective. Otherwise, the opponent can also use his qualities, score a goal and win a good draw. »»
What did you think of the first half of Kvaratskhelia. We felt him a little more comfortable in the second half, especially on his bearings with Dembelé. Is this an observation that you share too?
“As soon as Kvara touches the ball, we feel that it is different”
“Well, he played the first half and it's always complicated for a player to play his first game in a team. He only experienced four training sessions with his teammates. We barely know him and he doesn't know us either. I find it good. As soon as he touches the ball, we feel that he is different. This is his first match, but it is the first in a long series within the club and I think that the results are positive. He started the second half very well, as on this action where he managed to combine and pass the pass to Ousmane. It is on a good momentum. He clearly lacks rhythm because he has not officially played for a while. It is obvious that he does not understand anything and that the situation is still new, but I hope it is the first match in a long series. »»
Kvara has tried a lot of dribbles, as many players are capable of at PSG. Today, it was not necessarily successful but it was only his first match so it is normal. Are you going to ask him in the future, despite all the dribblers you already have, to also try a lot in every match?
“We are a team that generally has a ball possession much higher than that of our opponents. And in the end, thanks to our mobility and the un-conferred by each player, we create superiorities (digital). Kvaratskhelia is one of these players, and we have others, which is a chance for the coach I am. It is a puzzle: we have all the parts and we start to assemble them. Before giving instructions, we like to observe how players behave in training and what types of synergy appear between players. And I repeat the common rule to all my attackers is that everyone can play in all positions, which I consider to be very positive and beneficial for the team. »»
The matches are linked. How are your players physically?
-“Like every year. Like every season. Our teams, or at least my teams, are characterized by a very high physical level and a lot of intensity. It is enough to observe the quantity of sprints made by our team and the way in which we dominate the matches. We are on the same line as usual. The important part of the season is coming, we must be in good condition. This is not enough to arrive in September with a peak in form, it is a more linear process. I am not at all worried. Even with this calendar. It is an intense calendar and which we are happy with. Now you have to play this next Champions League match to confirm our position in the standings, and win the match to qualify or draw. This is our goal. »»
You have made strong choices by spreading Hakimi and Marquinhos from the match sheet. Is it due to small injuries against City or to preserve them for the match against Stuttgart?
“Marquinhos and the players who were put to rest were so because we considered it opportune”
“There are different situations. It's like Ousmane Dembélé in the previous match. This is one thing to say before the match that he is in perfect condition to play when he is not, because over the last seven days, he spent five with a strong fever and the last two days to train very lightly. So that's one thing to say that before the match so as not to give clues to the opponent on the players that I will select, but reality is another. These are two different things. I don't want to give any track to the opponent. We play against Stuttgart, Marquinhos and the players who were put to rest were because we have tried it appropriate, they are all ready to go to Stuttgart and play a very important match. »»
You set out KVaratskhelia on the left at the start of the match. We saw it a little more in the center with the replacements and even at the point at the end of the attack. Does this give the temperature of the tactical treatment that you will reserve for him in the coming months?
“The treatment of attackers is the same for everyone. I have the rule to condition the opportunity to play their performance. I think Kvaratskhelia will be at the level and that it is a very interesting reinforcement for us. But we have to wait to judge his performances, he has just arrived. I have a rule to try to put the players who are on fire. What are the players on fire? The best. This is my work as a coach. Regardless of their name or country of origin. This is the goal with the attackers. There are standards, there is an idea of the game. I like the players to be ambitious and that they want to play. But it is obvious that there is competition in a team like Paris Saint-Germain which aspires to all titles. So they can all play all positions, it depends on them. »»
You were talking about lack of efficiency earlier. Does that grieve you that Gonçalo Ramos is missing for example this evening?
“I always think that the most motivated to score is the player. And the goal must result from the performance of the team. Today, we have created fewer opportunities when it was essential, that it was the key to the match, especially in the first half. It would have completely changed the match to mark these opportunities. But I repeat, I have nothing to blame my players. They are the first to want to score goals. »»
We had the feeling in this match that there was the extra touch. Is it something to erase before the fateful match against Stuttgart?
“How many passes do we have to do to satisfy you?” I believe that it is a football scenario that often reproduces, especially on our field. The opponent plays in low block, with 11 players behind the ball, physically strong players and good defensively. It is so difficult to find spaces. We may have had more fluidity in the circulation of the ball.
For me, when you face a defensive system like the one implemented today by Reims, the movements without balloon are much more important than the movements with the ball. There is a difference between what we plan, what we try to work and improve, and what the player sees on the field. It's very complicated, there is no space, there is no time, there is a density of physically strong players. If it was so easy, everyone would do it: have more possession and make more passes …
Our goal is to win the match with our weapons. Is our weapons to have the ball? Yes. Is this the coach asking them? Yes. Is it too much? No, I never ask them to do too much. Just to make the good number. But the good number is always very difficult to obtain. I repeat: the team behaves as I wish. Today in particular, the movements without the ball were important, even more than the individual actions in one-of-one. For me, the game without the ball allows you to create a danger for the opponent, to drive it even more and to create more opportunities for goals. But I repeat, it's easy to talk about the theory from the point of view of the coach. What is difficult is to play. »»
