PSG coach Enrique urges ‘calm’ in Dortmund Champions League decider
Coach Luis Enrique of Paris Saint-Germain aimed to relieve his team's nerves ahead of Tuesday's second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund by assuring them that they wouldn't need to win by two goals to advance to the championship game.
Niclas Fuellkrug's goal earned Dortmund a slender victory in Germany, and PSG now needs to overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first leg last week.
"The goal is only to win, not to play to win by two goals. Consider the chance that the match might go to extra time or possibly penalties. You can't afford to worry about having to win by two goals, Luis Enrique told reporters on Monday.
"We have to win the match and score one first."
In the Champions League quarterfinals, PSG hopes to replicate their incredible performance from the first leg, where they lost 3-2 at home to Barcelona but advanced with a 4-1 victory in the second leg, even though they gave up the first goal in Spain.
The Spaniard went on, "It doesn't matter if we concede—that happened against Barcelona—we'll just need to stay calm."
Additionally, he stated that forcing Kylian Mbappe to drop deeper to get on the ball was not the only way to increase his involvement in the game.
This season, Mbappe has scored forty-three goals for PSG, two of which came in the second leg of the playoffs against Real Sociedad and two more away in Barcelona, but struggled to make a major impact in Dortmund last week.
"We want our best players to be involved," It's a better game the more people participate in it, he claimed.
"However, I want my strikers to touch the ball in the areas where they have the greatest impact." He should go where he can be harmful, in my opinion.
• Weekend off – with a starting lineup that featured ten changes from the one that faced PSG a few days prior, Dortmund defeated Augsburg 5-1 in the Bundesliga to warm up for the second leg.
PSG, on the other hand, had a free weekend as the French league rescheduled their away match against Nice to May 15 in order to help them prepare.
Naturally, there is more to life than just job. Luis Enrique stated, "To be better at your job, you need to do things outside of work as well."
"I enjoy practicing sports, including cycling and padel on our court. I also enjoy spending time in my own time. This has been a terrific week for me professionally.
"We've had time to reflect and train, with an emphasis on attack and defence. Today will be a typical practice on the eve of a game, a little more laid back.
We are appreciating our good fortune to be participating in the semifinals.
After losing to Bayern Munich 1-0 in Lisbon in 2020, PSG is hoping to make it to their second Champions League final.
Luis Enrique stated he was ready for the possibility of a heartbreaking loss, even though they have never taken home the title.
"Life will go on, and Paris is always beautiful when the sun shines."
"If we lose, we'll give them our congratulations and get back up the next day.
"We will be proud and tell ourselves that we will get back up and try to make it to the final the next year, even though we might be disgusted."