July 5, 2023: Luis Enrique arrives in Paris, Nasser puts pressure on Mbappé
It all starts from there. A month after dismissing Christophe Galtier, Nasser al-Khelaïfi presents Luis Enrique, his new coach, to the press. A renowned coach with strong playing ideas, for a new project. “It’s a renewal, a new era,” promises the Spanish coach after being asked about Neymar.
“My position is very clear. We want him to stay, but if he wants to stay he must sign a new contract,” for his part, blurted out the Parisian president regarding the future of Kylian Mbappé. The tone on the management of stars is set, just like on the Champions League, less described as an obsession.
July 21 -August 13, 2023: Mbappé dismissed
It’s a bomb in the heart of the Parisian summer. While the French striker does not wish to extend, Paris excludes him from its group for the tour in Asia on July 21. Then that for the first match of the season against Lorient, also without Marco Verratti and Neymar. “Kyks” returned to training the day after this match against the Merlus after “very constructive discussions”, then scores coming off the bench for his first appearance of the season in Toulouse (1-1).
He will score seven times in his first four matches of the season, while Neymar and Verratti will leave the ship, relieved of Lionel Messi for weeks, and recently joined by Lucas Hernandez, Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembélé. Luis Enrique had warned, it is “a new era” which begins.
A look back at the PSG season (Visual: Marko Popovic)
Credit: Eurosport
October 4, 2023: First slap and end of 4-2-4
The record of the first eight matches of PSG’s version of Luis Enrique is uneven: three draws, three victories and one defeat in Ligue 1, one victory in the Champions League. But the second European outing of the capital club is a total fiasco: after Marseille (4-0) and Clermont (0-0), Paris presents itself for the third time in a row with four attackers aligned in a 4-2-4 very offensive and was corrected by Newcastle (4-1) after having scored two shots.
Luis Enrique is stubborn and does not correct the shot during the match. Nor does he recognize any semblance of an error after the meeting. The fact remains that he will no longer realign as many attackers at the same time at the start of a match…
December 14-18, 2023: The 8th by a mouse hole… then a favorable draw
Under pressure because far from being qualified before their last group match, PSG did not control much but managed a draw against Dortmund (1-1) at Signal Iduna Park. Enough to qualify, not to finish first. Paris passes with 8 small points, the worst total for a qualifier in the round of 16 tied with FC Copenhagen.
However, four days later, he avoided Manchester City or other Real Madrid and inherited the weakest team in hat 1: Real Sociedad. Finally a little luck in the draw for the Ile-de-France club.
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February 14, 2024: The Vitinha click
Strongly shaken up during the first period of their Champions League round of 16 first leg against Real Sociedad, PSG must change something. At the break, Luis Enrique decides to reverse the positions of Vitinha and Fabien Ruiz: the Portuguese goes down a notch and acts as a sentinel, the Spaniard is freed from the first restart.
With success, since the former FC Porto man is much more comfortable than his partner under pressure. Vitinha will never leave this position, and his trio with Ruiz and Warren Zaire-Emery has since clearly stood out in the hierarchy.
February 17, 2024: The new management of Mbappé
Seeing Mbappé remain on the bench against Lille four days before the round of 16 first leg did not move many people. But three days after this first act, the Parisian star started again as a substitute in Nantes, where he was only allowed half an hour of play, with a goal to boot.
The start of new management on the part of Luis Enrique, who will not hesitate to take him out during the break in Monaco then put him on the bench again against Reims. The key argument? “Getting used to playing without Mbappé”. The message got through. This PSG is less and less that of the native of Bondy, more and more that of Luis Enrique.
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April 10-15, 2024: The art of communication by Luis Enrique
Beaten at the Parc des Princes by Barça in the quarter-final first leg (2-3), PSG is an injured beast, but not defeated. In the wake of this defeat which suggests another exit from the road before the last four, Luis Enrique does not panic. “We are going to Barcelona with a lot of desire and ambition. For us, it will be a final. We have confidence in the team”, he explains.
On the eve of the return to Catalonia, Luis Enrique once again presents himself serene and determined in front of the journalists. “We are convinced that we will turn the situation around. Never has a French club qualified after losing in the first leg? Tomorrow, we will do it”. We won’t say that the return match was played there. But this posture visibly rubbed off on his team, indisputably more serene than usual in a moment of high tension.
April 16, 2024: Barcelona, the highlight
Trailing quickly but helped by the early exclusion of Ronald Araujo, Paris reversed everything at Montjuic (1-4). The remontada wasn’t so much of a topic anymore, it’s definitely far behind. Transparent in the first leg, Kylian Mbappé scores twice and suddenly, the reading grid of his management by Luis Enrique changes, like that of the choices of the Spanish technician, who has found his typical team.
The recent Parisian failures on the European scene are becoming quite relative: we are now talking about a club being a semi-finalist three times in the last five editions. And who, given his opponent in the semi-finals, has every chance of playing in a second final in five years. Unexpected a few months ago…
Kylian Mbappé and Vitinha, two of PSG’s heroes during the success in Barcelona
Credit: Getty Images
