PSG Best without Mbappé, a bet almost won by Luis Enrique

On February 29, 2024, when Paris Saint-Germain had just received internal confirmation from the future departure of Kylian Mbappé for several days in Real Madrid, Luis Enrique explained, before the trip of the capital to Monaco, which he Was certain to have a stronger team the following season, even without Mbappé. “If everything is going well, I am convinced that we will have a much better team than that year, I am convinced, both in defense and in attack, in the middle, on the tactics, the physical. »»

Strong words pronounced while Bondynois were still part of his group. An announcement which had also earned Spanish a wave of criticism. PSG did not offer the best game in Europe, but some were offending such an announcement vis-à-vis a player author of 45 goals and 11 assists in 49 games. And yet. Luis Enrique had returned this last September after the Champions League match, which is difficult to win against Girona (1-0).

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“Last season, I said that the team would be better during this second campaign. I think we will still have a better team next season. It is a positivism that I try to transmit to my players, to the club. I think we have a better team than last season, but it's just my opinion. »» Again, the former Roja coach had been tackled. Paris was certainly untouchable in Ligue 1, but its very average results in C1, while Paris had reached the last square last year, largely sowed doubt in several observers.

Today, PSG is still very far from having equaled its performance from the season spent in the Champions League (dams against Brest then a possible 1/8th against Liverpool or FC Barcelona), but Luis Enrique seems to be off to win His bet. In L1, many coaches to confirm publicly that they find this PSG Post-Mpappé best. The Red and Blue seem to dominate the L1 more easily (ten points ahead of OM) when they were promised more fierce competition and their collective impresses. In the European Cup, this is still perfectible, in particular with regard to offensive efficiency, but the match against Manchester City proved that this PSG knew how to reverse the steam in a team and that it no longer tried despite a contrary scenario.

Progress is there

An observation that stands out from the criticisms that we have often heard on a PSG too dependent on the exploits of its world stars. “I was very courageous last season when I told you that we would have a better team in attack and defense. I continue to think, the figures are there to prove it. It is very difficult to tell a player like Mbappé. But the team took it as a challenge. We wanted to keep Kylian, but the team responds positively to a spectacular level. I had said that I didn't want a player who scores 40 goals, but several who score. There is one that does it, I invite others to do it. The maturity of the team is very good ”was delighted Luis Enrique this Thursday at a press conference on Thursday.

The rest of the season will tell us if Paris will do better than the past season, but another factor confirms a change in mentality within the Parisian workforce: the physical intensity put by the partners of Achraf Hakimi. For a long time, especially in the Champions League, Paris was one of the teams that ran the least, who made the least high intensity efforts. An almost completely corrected defect today. “I don't need to see the figures. I perceive it according to the opportunities created, the rhythm of play. If the figures arrive, we can look. In terms of sprint and high intensity races, we are among the best in Europe. We have the players sign according to their quality, but we look at their physical statistics. You must have a physically high -level player profile ”concluded Luis Enrique. Criticized, the Spaniard is, for the moment, to be successful in the start of the post-spap era.

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