Luis Enrique flies to the aid of Barcola, “an exceptional, sensational player”

Three more points in the bag. Certainly, the Parisians played to scare themselves by missing the 3-0 goal. They still provided the essentials by defeating Saint-Etienne (2-1) on Sunday, during the 17th day of Ligue 1. A match marked by the convincing performance of Ousmane Dembélé, author of a double. As is often the case, Luis Enrique preferred to emphasize the collective. But for a change, he did it… in French, in front of the DAZN cameras. “Dembele? Nothing. I am very happy with the victory. In good shape? Of course, but we are a team. A team that plays with all the players. When a player like Ousmane Dembélé scores two goals, it’s important for us and it’s perfect, but at the same time, I think of all the players in the team, we are all together, that’s the most important thing for We».

And to add, still in French: “We played well. But I have to congratulate Saint-Etienne because they played well, offensive, aggressive, I liked the way they played, congratulations to them. The match? PSG was as usual. We want to win every match. We played well”. It was in Spanish that “Lucho” then answered questions from journalists at a press conference.

The match : “First of all, I would like to congratulate Saint-Etienne. I liked their approach to the game, they weren’t afraid, they attacked, they wanted possession, they came out from behind and pressed high. They were very courageous and dared. They put in a great performance. As far as we are concerned, during the first 15 minutes, it was a little complicated. Saint-Etienne made it difficult for us. But after that, we had a lot of chances. As per usual. To have chances, you have to be better than the opponent. We were relatively inspired with the goals, but we could have scored more. We will focus on the goals we scored and the team. At the moment, Ousmane Dembélé is the one we talk about the most. At the start of the season, it was Bradley Barcola. There was Achraf Hakimi, Kang-in Lee, Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Warren Zaire-Emery, Gonçalo Ramos… The more players who join the goal celebration, the better. That’s what a team is all about. We have to get the best out of all the players.”

The Turin track for Randal Kolo Muani : “I don’t know (he says it in French, Editor’s note). When we talk about transfer window, I think of vegetables, bread, bakery… Nothing to say (in French again).”

Bradley Barcola’s lack of confidence : “As you say, it’s a matter of trust. He’s an exceptional, sensational player, and he’s the same as at the start of the season. At the moment, he is not scoring a goal. But that doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. He is an exceptional player, he is the player we signed from Lyon because of his qualities and his characteristics. At the moment he lacks confidence, it’s true. He doesn’t score. But what is important is that he contributes to the team as we expect from offensive players. He doesn’t score but he makes assists. He is progressing in defensive work. It’s a team and we adapt to the players, we help them to have confidence. It’s not his best moment but it will come back because he’s a great player.”

Lucas Hernandez back in the 11 : “He is a seasoned competitor. He has a smile every day in training because he is coming out of a difficult period (after his knee injury in early May, Editor’s note). He was treated quickly so he is enjoying every minute of playing. He was very good. We thought that giving him 60 minutes would allow him to raise the tone in terms of workload. He’s a top player who is always giving his all. There is never a friendly match for him. I congratulate him. I think he and Lucas Beraldo were very good in the central hinge.

Also read
PSG–Saint-Étienne: Dembélé too strong, Barcola’s crisis of confidence… The tops and the flops

It’s a match that we should have won by more than a goal.

Luis Enrique

Efficiency : “It’s a match that we should have won by more than a goal given the number of our chances. But we weren’t precise enough in the finishing. This is something that has been coming up since the start of the season. It’s sometimes hard to score. We must continue to build confidence so that the players believe in it more. This is the key to winning because you have to score goals. We control what we can control. The rest, we played pretty well tonight. If PSG plays at 30/40% of its potential once the gap is made? No, I don’t see it like that. Otherwise, Saint-Etienne would have come away with a draw… I didn’t like the start of the match. We were perhaps surprised by the attitude of Saint-Etienne. But if only one player was at 40%, I would have taken him out! No PSG player thinks it’s enough to be at 40%… I already don’t accept it in training. When I arrived, I committed to trying to develop a group of high-level players. I do not accept that a player is at 40%.

A different PSG for several weeks : “No, I don’t agree, it’s the same PSG as last season. There is obviously an evolution, that is our goal. We want to avoid being predictable. Since the start of the season, there has been progress compared to the previous one. And I said we would be better in attack and defense. Obviously, you have to win trophies to demonstrate it. But I like what I see. The competition within the team allows us to progress. I’m happy with what I see every day in training and I hope the team continues in this direction throughout the season, that’s my goal as coach.”

Also read
Real Madrid-Barcelona: the Mbappé festival, the flashes of Raphinha… In video, all the goals of a magical Clasico

If he intends to watch the Spanish Super Cup in replay : “No, I don’t think so…I’m exhausted.”

Comments collected at a press conference