Paris, Nov 5 (IANS) Paris Saint Germain head coach Luis Enrique has expressed great admiration towards Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, having played against the Argentine 14 times during his stint as FC Barcelona manager, ahead of PSG’s first-ever UCL game against the Madrid side.
“Tomorrow, I’ll be playing against Diego (Simeone) again. We’ve played against each other as players and then as managers, and he’s a great manager. He’s been at Atletico for a long time, which is a great achievement; lasting that long is incredible.
”We know that it’ll be a tough game against a side that knows how to play as a team but that also has great individual talent. They’ve got some top, international players, and they’ll want to perform well, too. We’re expecting a high-level game, and we’re focused on winning it,” Enrique told reporters in a press conference.
The Parc des Princes is the stage for the first ever Champions League meeting between Paris and Atleti, with both sides looking to improve on mixed starts to the campaign. The hosts came from behind to draw 1-1 against PSV in their last game after having lost 0-2 against Arsenal in their last outing leaving them with only one win, 1-0 win against Girona, in three games leaving them at 19th place in the League table.
Diego Simeone’s Atleti will have a similarly bitter feeling about their campaign, suffering their second straight loss at home against Lille, having already lost 0-4 against Benfica, resulting in the side at the bottom-end of the table at the 27th spot.
Enrique downplayed both team’s struggles claiming there was plenty of time left for both sides to make a dash for the qualification spots.
“The feeling is the same whenever we play in the Champions League. I’m optimistic, and I believe that my players can face up to this game and get the three points. We always play with the same idea as a team. Each competition is different, and the Champions League is a very high-level one, but I’m very happy with the standard of my team. Our stats are very good in this competition, but we’re hoping to have some more luck in terms of results.
“If we lose tomorrow but we win the next four games, we’ll go through, as will Atlético. So, tomorrow night’s game isn’t a decider. It’s important, and our aim is to win it, but it’s not crucial for the next stage of the competition,” he added.
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