Soccer
Paris Saint-Germain remain highly motivated to win trophies despite their extraordinary success last season, so says Luis Enrique.
Champions League holders PSG cruised to an 8-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea in the last 16, winning the second leg 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Khvicha Kvaratkshelia – the late hero in the first leg – was on the scoresheet, as were Bradley Barcola and Senny Mayulu to get PSG over the line in style.
PSG have progressed to the last eight in each of the last three Champions League campaigns, as many times as they managed across the previous eight seasons in the competition (2015-16, 2019-20 and 2020-21).
They have also won five of their last six Champions League matches against English opposition (D1), as many victories as they recorded in their previous 15 encounters with such opponents in the competition (D1 L9).
PSG are in a Ligue 1 title race with Lens, and Luis Enrique says he does not have to work hard to keep his players fighting for their goals.
“There’s no credit for the coach. It’s natural,” he said when asked how he keeps the team motivated after last year’s treble success.
“They keep playing all the time, they’re always motivated. We finished training next to the bus [on Monday]. They’re a special group of players. It’s a real joy to coach them.
“We always have confidence in the team. We’re always looking to improve. We’re very demanding of ourselves, and we’re having a very good season.”
Ahead of the second leg, Luis Enrique had noted how important it was for PSG to avoid being complacent despite their three-goal cushion.
While they only had eight shots, five of those were on target in a clinical display as they overperformed their 1.1 expected goals (xG).
But Luis Enrique also highlighted the importance of Matvey Safonov, who made nine saves to preserve a clean sheet.
“Of course, I’m very proud of what I saw throughout the match. We’re very happy with the way we played,” he said.
“It’s impossible to win an away Champions League match without a top-level goalkeeper. Safonov, like [Lucas] Chevalier, is one.
“I’ve often spoken about how lucky I am to have three very good goalkeepers [including Renato Marin].”
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