At the Parc des Princes, there will be the first Champions League gala evening of the regular season this Wednesday evening. PSG hosts Atletico de Madrid for the 4th day, the 15th reunion between Luis Enrique and Diego Simeone. The Paris Saint-Germain coach has 9 wins in 14 matches and could sign a historic performance since the paths of the two clubs have never crossed.
At the start of the Champions League regular season, the Paris Saint–Germain does not get off to his best start. After a sluggish victory against Gérone at the opening of this new format (1-0), the PSG was mistreated by Arsenal to l’Emirates Stadium (0-2) and was held in check at Princes Park against the PSV Eindhoven (1-1). Which means that the Parisian club is currently in 23rd place in the regular season rankings out of the 24 qualifying places for the knockout phase with 4 small points. This shock of the 4th day of the regular season this Wednesday evening at Princes Park between PSG andAtletico Madrid can already be considered a turning point for the rest of the qualifying phase of this C1. Especially since it is a clash of styles between two very different coaches: Luis Enrique et Diego Simeone.
Luis Enrique regularly dominates Diego Simeone
Luis Enrique rubbed himself against Diego Simeone 14 times since his coaching debut. At Celta Vigo the time of the 2013/2014 season and FC Barcelona between 2014 and 2017. The total of the current coach of the PSG is flattering since it has 9 victories against 2 draws and 3 defeats. During his time on the bench of Barça with the famous MSN composed of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez et Neymar among others, Enrique remained undefeated, notably with a series of successes in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. Only one defeat in the Champions League is worth highlighting in 2016. His other two took place at Celta Vigothat is to say more than a decade ago now.
A first between PSG and Atletico
This bodes well for the PSG who has never been confronted with the'Atletico de Madrid on the European scene. An evening of great premiere which could turn in favor of the Parisians if we rely on the history between Luis Enrique et Diego Simeone. After their clashes as players and coaches, Enrique said all the good things he thought of Simeone at a press conference on Tuesday.
“We competed against each other as players and coaches. He is a very good coach, I admire when I see a technician last so long in a big club, because it requires a lot of energy, the difficulty of convincing your players in the long term. That means you're a top trainer. It doesn’t matter if we don’t have the same style of play.”
Diego Simeone returned the favor a few hours later. “I love the way Paris plays. Their playing dynamics are excellent, they bear the mark of their coach with dynamic young players. We don't know where they will arrive. They manage to get the ball out very quickly with three, with four, they have a lot of position change movements. This is the football that Luis Enrique offered wherever he went.”
