After two years of succumbing in the round of 16 of the Champions League, after two forgettable seasons in Europe, with multiple setbacks and anger from the ultras involved, Qatar and Nasser Al Khelaïfi decided last summer to change the Paris Saint Germain project. The key was not to sign big stars, but to form a competitive, collective team in which the figures were the eleven on the field. For this, the chosen one was Luis Enrique, a coach who already knew what it was like to win the Champions League, with Barcelona in 2015, and who landed in Paris to implement the discipline.
With less than two months left until the season ends, PSG is in an unbeatable situation. Undisputed leader of Ligue 1, with ten points ahead of the second placed and with one game less, champion of the Super Cup in January, finalist of the French Cup, on May 25 against Lyon and semi-finalist of the Champions League, after defeating Barcelona 1-4 in Montjuic, overcoming the 2-3 loss of the first leg at the Parc des Princes.
A lot of the blame for this lies with Luis Enrique, who has finally managed, after many years without an identity, to imbue a defined, ultra-offensive style of play, with practically the entire squad taking center stage. “There are 23 starters, not eleven,” he tired of repeating at the start of the season. Proof of this is that the Asturian coach, in 44 games this season, has used 40 different lineups, which he communicates two hours before the game, so that all the players are plugged in throughout training.
The 53-year-old from Gijón has been decisive in the tie for different reasons. Although he made a mistake with his approach in the first leg, he corrected it at half-time and, although he lost against Barcelona, in the second leg he emerged victorious in the tactical battle against Xavi. He forced the Blaugranas to always take the ball on Araujo’s side and not Cubarsí, with whom Mbappé was paired, leading to the loss of the Uruguayan and his subsequent expulsion after committing a foul on Barcola on the edge of the area in an obvious situation. the Gol.
Afterwards, Luis Enrique knew how to read and how to attack Barcelona from the flanks, although it is evident that the central defender’s red card marked the future of the tie. Both Barcola and Dembélé continually received the advantage because both Achraf, on the right, and Fabián, on the left, were in charge of paving the way for the two wingers, decisive in three of PSG’s four goals, to face each other with ease.
Luis Enrique has resurrected a sleeping Paris, in need of a leader, a commander who would fit together pieces that had been out of place for a long time with different coaches. The newspaper L’Équipe, after the 1-4 in Montjuic, praised the work of the former Spanish coach, rating his field management with an ‘8’. “When he forms a coherent team with the players in their positions, the difference is immediately noticeable. The Spanish coach managed the second leg well. He said his club would do it. “He kept his word and did everything he could,” highlights the French newspaper.
PSG is four games away from achieving a historic Treble, a feat that Luis Enrique already knows what it is to savor as Barcelona coach. If he wins the French Cup final against Lyon, on May 25, and manages to qualify for and win the Champions League final, on June 1, he will become the first coach in the history of the Parisians who, In addition to a Triplet, it gives the club the first Champions League in its history. Big words, but any fan would have signed, in August, when the season began, to find themselves in this situation in April.
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