ATLANTA: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said Friday his team will keep adapting and improving to pursue future success and if they failed to do so they would be “dead.”
The European champions face German giants Bayern Munich on Saturday in the Club World Cup quarter-finals in Atlanta and the Spanish coach said they will not keep relying on the same system.
PSG played an entertaining attacking style with three forward 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.
“It’s not the time to give information to my opponent — we’ll see tomorrow,” said Luis Enrique.
PSG ‘dead’ unless they keep improving: Luis Enrique
https://arab.news/grhew
PSG ‘dead’ unless they keep improving: Luis Enrique
- PSG played an entertaining attacking style with three forward on their way to Champions League glory
Late Nandez winner keeps Al-Qadsiah’s title hopes alive
- Al-Qadsiah move to 47 points, 3 behind leaders Al-Hilal, who are yet to play on Matchday 22
- Al-Taawoun fairytale run loses steam as Pericles Chamusca’s side continue difficult spell
RIYADH: All signs pointed to an unlikely title charge for Al-Qadsiah when they held Al-Hilal to a 2-2 draw in Dammam at the end of January.
Since then, it has been a testing period for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
While they remain unbeaten under the Northern Irishman, Al-Qadsiah have struggled to replicate their earlier intensity as fatigue begins to take its toll.
Despite those challenges, Al-Qadsiah have collected seven points from their last nine, with a dramatic late winner from Nahitan Nandez securing a valuable 1-0 victory over a resilient NEOM side. The road to those three points was anything but easy.
Al-Qadsiah should have been ahead inside three minutes. A high press initiated by Julian Quinones and Mateo Retegui forced NEOM goalkeeper Luis Maximiano into a costly error, with his attempted clearance falling straight to the Italian. The 2024/25 Serie A top scorer struck the post with the goal at his mercy, allowing NEOM to breathe a sigh of relief.
What followed was a tactical battle between Rodgers and Christophe Galtier.
The hosts made a few changes from their previous outing, with Nandez occupying the right flank instead of Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, while Ali Hazazi slotted into midfield.
NEOM mirrored the system, with their wingers tracking Nandez and Christopher Bonsu Baah as they dropped into a 5-4-1 defensive shape. Faris Abdi was a key outlet for the visitors, surging down the left flank on multiple occasions to support Luciano Rodriguez and Alexandre Lacazette.
It was Rodriguez and Lacazette who fashioned NEOM’s most dangerous chances of the night.
In the 38th minute, Koen Casteels denied Rodriguez with a powerful save. Minutes later, a cutback found Lacazette inside the box, but Casteels was again equal to the effort.
The Belgian emerged as the standout performer, making seven saves to keep Al-Qadsiah in contention. His efforts almost went unrewarded, however, as Retegui failed to convert further chances and Quinones endured his first game in 10 without a goal contribution.
Al-Qadsiah eventually grabbed the winner in the dying moments when a cross from Bonsu Baah was flicked on by new signing Waleed Al-Ahmed into the path of Nandez. The Uruguayan powered home what could prove to be the most valuable goal of the season, keeping Al-Qadsiah firmly in the title hunt.
Elsewhere, Damac enjoyed a perfect start under new manager Fabio Carille, as the Knights from the South secured their second win of the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Al-Taawoun.
Yakou Meite scored twice to give Damac their first win since late December, while Al-Taawoun drifted further from the top four after another match without victory.
The result moves Damac three points clear of Al-Riyadh in 16th place, easing immediate relegation concerns.
Meanwhile, Omar Al-Somah continued his pursuit of the all-time Saudi Pro League scoring record with a late winner for Al-Hazem. The hosts defeated Al-Okhdood 2-1 to climb temporarily into 11th, 12 points clear of the drop zone.
Saudi Pro League action returns on Friday, with Al-Shabab hosting Al-Ahli in Riyadh, Al-Hilal welcoming Al-Ettifaq and Al-Ittihad facing Al-Fayha to close out the day’s action.
