So no crisis, no unpleasant surprises for Christmas. This Sunday evening, it was with a qualification for the round of 16 of the Coupe de France and the feeling of duty accomplished that the PSG coach and his troops went on vacation. Before leaving Lens and a Bollaert stadium in which he, with his staff, let out his unrestrained joy at the end of the victorious penalty shootout, Luis Enrique came to take stock of the match and of this first half of the season .
We saw that Safonov had the names of the shooters written on a piece of paper. Does this mean that you had prepared for a possible penalty shootout and did you know Lensois' shooting preferences?
LUIS HENRY. Obviously this is a situation that could be expected. When you play 90 minutes, away from an opponent of this level, you have to prepare for that. We had prepared it. Matvey Safonov is an exercise specialist, he has demonstrated it again. We are very happy with this result, especially since we won through pain. But we have a lot of hope for 2025.
What is your assessment of this first part of the season?
If I rely on what the team did, if I stick to the statistics, it's positive, we can say that we had a good period. Afterwards, there were these two matches in the Champions League, against PSV and Atlético, which put us in a delicate situation since we deserved six points and we only took one. But I'm very happy with what I see in my team.
Is the alternation between Donnarumma and Safonov bearing fruit?
Yes, I think so. Arnau (Tenas) is also ready, even if he hasn't played a minute. My decisions explain that my goal is to have no player slacking off. I have a very young team but it is exceptional and I want all the players to feel involved in maintaining their best level.
What was your halftime speech?
It was difficult because Lens was very strong physically, very motivated too. In this type of match, you have to know how to have a good first half. But as I already said, it's almost not normal to play a first round of the Cup against an opponent of this level, it's almost a final.
In the next round, you face Espaly, do you know where that is?
If I'm not mistaken, it's not too far from Lyon, right? A little south? (laughs) I did my homework! (laughs)
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