After the 1-0 victory against Lens in a match very much in the usual style of his team, Luis Enrique stopped at the microphone of beIN Sports and he admitted that his team had lacked serenity in front of goal to convert the numerous chances Parisians.
The interview begins with the reunion with Sonny Anderson, ex-teammates at Barça, which Luis Enrique comments: “I had the chance to play with this great man and it’s always a pleasure to meet him again. »
Is Donnarumma injured or was it just a choice?
“No, no, he is not injured (in French). I told myself that for this match against Lens, the situation would not be easy and I wanted players who were ready, the goalkeeper as well as the others. »
The objective was to win to move up the rankings, are you completely satisfied with the match?
“Yes, because we knew it was going to be a difficult match. Lens puts a lot of pressure, they are very aggressive and that makes the match complicated. I think we did well. We didn't materialize certain opportunities, there was a lack of serenity and other things but I'm very happy, delighted with my team. I like what I see and then there is the Champions League which is coming and which we love. »
Your midfield is never static and moves a lot, with players constantly changing places. Hakimi even takes the ax. Do you ask him?
“We are talking about mobility, occupation of spaces depending on the players, etc. This depends on whether we have the ball or not, whether the opponent will give us freedom or not. This is our idea of the game. And for me as a coach, when we have this quality of players and this level, it is relatively simple to prepare for this type of matches. I really like my team, they have the right attitude and we generate a lot of scoring chances. We don't score every time but there isn't a team like that. So we play throughout the match with the same energy, more or less. I like it a lot. »
Could Dembélé have more importance in the offensive animation, even if it means changing your tactics for him?
“What I try to do is change my tactics depending on the players I have. If I had Messi, it would be totally different. If it was Kylian (Mbappé), completely different too. This year, there is no Neymar, Messi or Mbappé. But Dembélé is a very different player so you have to adapt. We seek to generate situations in which Ousmane and Bradley, players with a high offensive level, are more present but we also have to defend. This year, I think we're better than last year because it's even more difficult to score us. How should it be done? Up ? Down ? Who plays 9: Ousmane, Bradley, Fabian, Hakimi? It's football! »
We have seen your playing principles, but are you satisfied with today's counter-pressing?
“That’s the objective: to keep the ball more than the opponent. And if we have more, we can then put pressure on him better. This is something vital. Today there were too many transitions (from Lens) and that's not good, it means that the structure was not good for pressing. The Champions League is fast approaching and we really want to play it. »
