PSG 'dead' unless they keep improving: Luis Enrique
PSG played an entertaining attacking style with three forwards on their way to Champions League glory, but Luis Enrique said one day he would diverge.
"We will change it because teams adapt -- in football there is nothing magical," Luis Enrique told reporters.
"When you overcome the press, your opponent adapts, when you create superiority in an area, your opponent adapts, there is no magic formula.
"There is no coach who has a system or a move, and that's it, that's the difficulty of modern football, all coaches are prepared, all players are better physically and technically than ever."
"So you adapt, you improvise, and you become unpredictable for your opponent, or you are dead."
Luis Enrique said playing the same way that led PSG to a first treble this season would not suffice going forward.
"It's not enough to do what we've done this past season in the next, we have to change, we have to improve things," added Luis Enrique.
Bayern Munich beat PSG 1-0 in November in the Champions League group stage, before the French side found their stride and went on to triumph in the competition for the first time.
"We have a little bit of revenge to take, we know they're a tough team, but we're much stronger than in November," said Ousmane Dembele, who was sent off in Munich.
"A lot has changed -- the players have clearly raised their level, I've raised my level too, and we have a lot of confidence. We know what we need to do on the field, we can beat any team."
The 28-year-old is a leading Ballon d'Or contender after a superb campaign, although has only made a brief cameo as a substitute in the Club World Cup thus far.
Dembele suffered a quadriceps injury during the Nations League at the start of June and came on in PSG's 4-0 romp against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.
The forward said he is now "100 percent" fit but it is up to Luis Enrique whether he starts against Bayern at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Real Madrid ready for 'really big challenge' against PSG at Club World Cup
Real beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in their last-eight tie at the MetLife Stadium, a few hours after PSG defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in Atlanta. The Spanish giants and the French side will now clash at the MetLife Stadium in the semi-finals on Wednesday, and whoever emerges victorious will be seen as favourites to go on and win the competition. "Today we played against a team who went far in the Champions League and now we face the winners, so this is going to be another little step up for us in this new project we are beginning," said Alonso, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti as Real coach just ahead of the tournament. PSG, coached by Luis Enrique, succeeded Madrid as European champions after hammering Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final in Munich in late May. "They have been playing at a really high level since the last 16 of the Champions League and it will be a really big challenge for us." Real appeared to be cruising to a comfortable victory against Dortmund after goals in the first 20 minutes by young striker Gonzalo Garcia and left-back Fran Garcia. But Maximilian Beier pulled one back for Dortmund in stoppage time, sparking a remarkable late flurry which saw Kylian Mbappe net an overhead kick and then Serhou Guirassy score a penalty for the Germans after Dean Huijsen was sent off. "We can do better but overall it ws a very serious performance and now we need to take the positives from this," said Alonso, who will have to do without centre-back Huijsen against PSG due to suspension. "The game has just ended so I am not yet thinking about the semis. I will have a couple of hours of peace but obviously it is not good news to have lost Huijsen." Mbappe pushing to start Alonso may now have a selection headache of another sort in attack, with Mbappe -- used as a substitute on Saturday -- pushing for a first start of the tournament against his old club after overcoming illness. "He is still not perfect, not at 100 percent, but he is improving every day," Alonso said of the France superstar after he scored his 44th goal for the club since signing from PSG a year ago. Gonzalo Garcia, meanwhile, has had a fine Club World Cup with the 21-year-old striker notching four goals in five appearances off the back of a prolific campaign with the Madrid second team, Castilla. "Yesterday (Friday) I said that Gonzalo was making the most of his opportunity and he did it again today," Alonso said. "He has the characteristics of a goal-scorer, he had a great season with Castilla, scoring 25 goals, and he is in the right place here." Meanwhile Dortmund coach Niko Kovac insisted he was satisfied with his team's performance at the tournament despite their defeat, as they now get to take a holiday before preparing for the start of the next German Bundesliga season. "I want to congratulate Real Madrid for going through. It is a well-deserved victory. We were too slow, the conditions were not perfect, and we were not good enough even if in the second half we were a lot better," he said. "Overall my team had a good tournament. We showed our qualities and it is not a failure if you go home after a defeat against Real Madrid," he added.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
PSG set up Club World Cup semi clash with Mbappe's Real Madrid
Los Blancos squeezed out Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in New Jersey in the day's other quarter-final clash, with Mbappe on the scoresheet for the first time at the tournament. Luis Enrique's PSG needed to dig deep in front of 67,000 fans at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium after late red cards for Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez. The French side won the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history in May, despite their key player Mbappe departing for Real last year. Young forward Desire Doue, who shone on PSG's road to European glory, and Ballon d'Or candidate Ousmane Dembele got the goals in the second half of an enthralling clash against Vincent Kompany's Bayern, who had two strikes ruled out for offside. The German giants also lost playmaker Jamal Musiala to a horror ankle injury just before half-time, which Kompany said made his "blood boil" because of how unfortunate it is for the 22-year-old. "After the first red card it became complicated, then with two players less it was a bit of a lottery," said a relieved Luis Enrique. PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his Bayern counterpart Manuel Neuer both made several excellent saves in a pulsating battle at the air-conditioned, covered venue which allowed both sides' high-pressing, attacking approaches to shine. Players and spectators at both matches observed a minute of silence in honour of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who tragically died in a car crash on Thursday. PSG's clash with Bayern was FIFA's expanded tournament's biggest heavyweight clash thus far and the game delivered, even if fans had to wait until the 78th minute for the opener. After Harry Kane gave the ball away, PSG surged forward and 20-year-old Doue fashioned some space on the edge of the box before flashing a low strike home at the near post. Bayern were given hope as they hunted for an equaliser when PSG defender Pacho was sent off for a high tackle on Leon Goretzka after 83 minutes. Kane had a goal disallowed for offside, like Bayern's Dayot Upamecano in the first half, and after Hernandez was dismissed for an elbow Dembele tucked home the second in stoppage time, paying tribute to Jota by copying his video-gaming celebration. "In the first half we showed them who we are and they had problems with us," said Bayern substitute Thomas Mueller, who played his last game for the club. Mbappe strikes Real Madrid cruised for the most part against Dortmund before a flurry of goals at the end left them in danger of losing their lead. Xabi Alonso, unbeaten at the helm, shifted back to a four-man defence against Niko Kovac's side, shorn of suspended Jobe Bellingham, who would have loved to face his older brother, Madrid's Jude. The coach decided to leave Mbappe, who missed the three group games after a stomach bug, on the bench and persist with Gonzalo Garcia up front. The 21-year-old striker paid back Alonso for his confidence by grabbing his fourth goal of the tournament after 10 minutes with a close-range finish from Arda Guler's cross. "He's doing great work for the team... he's in the right position in the box, he's a proper number nine," said Alonso. In the 20th minute Fran Garcia doubled Los Blancos' lead, rushing into the box to polish off Trent Alexander-Arnold's dangerous ball across the face of goal. Madrid were cruising to victory until Max Beier drilled home in stoppage time. Real responded, with substitute Mbappe netting his 44th goal of the season with an acrobatic finish from another Guler cross. He paid tribute to the late Jota by making the number 20 with his hands, the Portuguese striker's shirt number at Liverpool. Madrid were not home and dry. Dean Huijsen was sent off for tugging back Serhou Guirassy as he ran through and the Guinea international netted from the spot, but Dortmund had no time to equalise. "Everything was under control with the result, not conceding much, but the last 10 minutes were kind of crazy," said Alonso.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Mbappe on target as Real Madrid down Dortmund to reach Club World Cup semis
Garcia, 21, put Madrid ahead from close range early on a hot afternoon at the MetLife Stadium just outside New York City, and Fran Garcia then doubled their lead before the midway point in the first half. Dortmund never seriously threatened a comeback before a remarkable late flurry of activity, with Maximilian Beier pulling one back in the 93rd minute and Mbappe getting Madrid's third with a stunning overhead kick. Serhou Guirassy then completed the scoring with a penalty after Real's Dean Huijsen was sent off, before the full-time whistle finally blew. Xabi Alonso's side find themselves in the semi-finals despite Mbappe still not having started a game at the tournament. The France superstar, who did not play at all during the group stage due to illness, will now hope to start for the first time when Real take on his old club in a fascinating last-four showdown at the same venue on Wednesday. Whoever emerges victorious from that tie will be the favourites to go on and win the inaugural edition of FIFA's expanded competition, with Chelsea taking on Fluminense in the other semi-final. This match, watched by a near sell-out crowd of 76,611, was a repeat of the 2024 UEFA Champions League final which Real won 2-0. But while they needed two late goals to claim victory then, this time they seemed to have got the job done early after Alonso sprang something of a surprise with his tactical line-up. The new Real coach had deployed a three-man central defence in previous games at the tournament, but this time he went with an orthodox back four as Aurelien Tchouameni stepped up into midfield. Julian Brandt was not far away from giving the German side the lead, but instead it was Real who went in front in the 10th minute. Garcia had scored three times in Madrid's first four matches at the Club World Cup, including the winner against Juventus in the last 16. Crazy ending He stole in between two defenders to meet an Arda Guler cross at the near post and make it 1-0 to the delight of the vast majority of the crowd. The summer heat contributed to the slow pace of the contest, but Real also effectively killed off Dortmund's hopes by scoring again in the 20th minute. Patient build-up play on the right involving the imperious Jude Bellingham and Gonzalo ended with the two full-backs combining as a low Trent Alexander-Arnold cutback was swept in by Fran Garcia. They should have scored more goals before half-time, with Bellingham -- deprived of the chance to face his brother Jobe who was suspended -- firing just wide after a nice dummy by Vinicius Junior. The latter sent a shot wide when he tried to surprise Gregor Kobel from the edge of the box, while Tchouameni cracked an effort off the frame of the goal just past the hour mark, albeit there was an offside earlier in the move. Dortmund could have made a real comeback attempt had half-time substitute Beier scored at the other end just before that, although their hopes were briefly raised late on. Beier did make it 2-1 three minutes into time added on as he controlled a poor clearance and fired a low shot past Thibaut Courtois. Mbappe, who had come on for Bellingham midway through the second half, then scored his 44th club goal since the start of the season with an overhead effort at the back post from a Guler cross. Then Guirassy was brought down at the other end, leading to centre-back Huijsen being sent off. Guirassy scored the penalty to make it 3-2 with his 38th of the season and fourth of the competition.
