In a little less than a week, PSG faces the first decisive meeting of its season. The Parisians welcome FC Barcelona for the first round of these quarter-finals of the Champions League, always with the hope of finally going all the way in the most prestigious of European competitions. With Luis Enrique, the trend is rather towards optimism on the side of PSG, rather convincing in recent weeks.
And on the other side of the Pyrenees, it doesn't go unnoticed. Parisian performances and especially those of Kylian Mbappé have been closely scrutinized in recent weeks, like this solid success against Rennes in the Coupe de France semi-finals on Wednesday evening. “Mbappé’s goal perfectly reflects why all Barça supporters are trembling”title for example the daily A.S.. The Bondynois is not the only player feared by the Barcelonans, who also fear a former member of the house: Ousmane Dembélé.
Luis Enrique is scary
Sport thus devotes a long article to him, highlighting in particular the work carried out by Luis Enrique with him and his sometimes more axial repositioning which risks hurting Xavi's men. This match against Rennes, although not necessarily brilliant, highlighted certain strengths and alternatives that the Spaniard could use against his former club. The presence of Luis Enrique on the Parisian bench is therefore also a great asset for the Parisians in the eyes of the media and Barcelona supporters.
“Luis Enrique's PSG is physically powerful, puts pressure, is united and dangerous with spaces. PSG showed against Rennes that they are prepared to beat anyone but that they are not necessarily exuberant”explain Mundo Deportivo, who also praises Mbappé and Dembélé. The Catalan media thus present this PSG as a team that is particularly difficult to move, and lethal if its offensive players have a few meters of free space in front of them. Xavi has his work cut out for him if he wants to get his team into the semis…
