Luis Enrique before Le Havre-PSG: “I would like to have three attackers like Mbappé with 17 goals, but…”

Lack of efficiency: “Only the last gesture or the way of serving the attackers? It’s very funny… If we have a finishing problem, what do the other teams have? We score three goals per match (in the last five Parisian victories in Ligue 1, Editor's note), we have 10 chances against Newcastle... If we have a finishing problem, what do the others have? No, under no circumstances. It's a game of mistakes. I would be concerned if we didn't get a chance. Sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes we are less inspired. It's football, it's life. We missed some very clear chances, but that’s football. You have to have a bit of spirit... Now, when a player misses an opportunity, the first one who wants to score is the player. I will never criticize a player who misses an opportunity, or a goalkeeper makes a mistake, a central defender... We would have a problem if we didn't generate chances. For the rest, if you are inspired everything is fine, otherwise, it is more difficult. In any case, I'm not concerned. Lots of goals in L1 and a mental block in the Champions League? You can say whatever you want (smile).”

Manuel Ugarte: “A link between a decline in performance on his part and the absence of Warren Zaire-Emery? No. I don't make a link between the absence of a player and the fact that another player plays better. With the squad I have, a very high level squad in all positions… As the season progresses, some players will play better, others less well. But it is true that for our midfielders to play well, the team must be more compact. Afterwards, and this is both a virtue and a problem, the team can expand as the match goes on. That means the environment will suffer because you can't put pressure on. When there is less space between the lines, the midfielders will do better. He is a very important player for us because he has this ability to put pressure, be aggressive, recover the ball well, a bit like Sergio Busquets at Barça. If there is a lot of space, Busquets struggles because he cannot cover everything widthwise. It's a bit the same problem for Manuel, Warren Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz... If we move away from the attackers and we don't follow, there is a lot of space to cover and it's more difficult. But for the rest, Manuel was as much a surprise for me as for you. You don't really know a player until you have him with you. And it’s a very good transfer, it’s part of the future of the club.”

Dear Ndour: “He is a very young player, 20 years old. He is an Italian international hopeful. He has very high level physical and technical qualities. I'm sure he would be a starter in any Ligue 1 team, but here there is a lot of competition and it's hard to give him minutes. But it's a marvel, it's an example of what a professional player should be and what a young player should be at a big club. In terms of physical or technical performance, there was not a day when he was below. Even if he is not registered in the Champions League, it is a real pleasure to see him training and he is an example.

The link between control and efficiency: “Less possession, more goals since the start of the season? Do you want to bet something on the fact that we will be dominant tomorrow (Sunday in Le Havre)? I think we will be (smile). We have had 70% possession on average since the start of the season, more than any other team in the championship. Why should we change, in order to be more efficient? I start from the postulate that the more dominant we are, the more things will be in favor of my team, which will allow us to win by giving the fewest options to the opponent. That's what I'm looking for. The goal is not just to have a lot of chances. As a coach, I would like us to only play in the opposing camp and attack again and again and create chances and the opponent has none. That's the ideal match. That's what I'm always looking for, and that was the case in my previous teams. If the fans like another style more, that's one thing, but I'm professional, it's my job, I want to dominate as much as possible, control, have the ball close to the goal. If the ball is near the opponent's goal, their attackers will be far from mine. With all my experience this is all very clear, I have no doubt. We are still at the beginning of this project here. I am very happy with what I see from my team even if we still have to improve a lot. My team will play the way I want. Afterwards, whether we like it more or less, it doesn’t matter to me.”

How to replace Ousmane Dembélé, suspended at Dortmund: “I haven't thought about it yet. I know he won't be able to play because of a ridiculous card but I'm thinking of Le Havre. There are still a dozen days. I can try things indeed, but Le Havre does not play like Dortmund. It does not work like that. We have a range of possibilities depending on the players available, but I cannot stage what will happen against Dortmund because there is no similarity between Dortmund and Le Havre.

Gonçalo Ramos or Randal Kolo Muani: “They are two typical strikers. Kolo Muani may have an easier time playing on the wing and Ramos is more of a surface 9 but they are two very strong options. They have a great capacity for work. We can improve on certain phases of the game, we could help them more. I don't really choose based on the opponent but on the situations we will have in the matches. The two play regularly. I’m happy with what they give.”

The winter transfer window: “Sports management and staff must always work and think about improving the squad. From there to doing it publicly, there is some room. The most important thing is to always be attentive to improve the squad, and that is what we will do in the winter transfer window. If there are opportunities to improve the squad at the right time and under the right conditions, we go for it. But I have always praised the quality of the squad and I am sincere.”

Bradley Barcola, criticized after his failures against Newcastle and who has not yet been decisive with PSG: “In some sports, statistics are less important than others. If we only looked at the goals and assists, we would say that Ousmane Dembélé is not a good player. However, it is the player who creates the most imbalances at the global level, a player who created at least 70% of the actions which ended in goals! In short, if you want to look at the statistics, go for it. But as a coach, that doesn't interest me. Obviously, I would like him to score a lot of goals, to give a lot of assists. But it's not something I'm going to watch. For Bradley more specifically, the criticisms, all PSG players will have them throughout their career, this is always the case in a big club. What I can say is that he is a spectacular player, very young, with a lot of personality. He has an ability to create superiorities thanks to his dribbling and to enter the box to have chances. Even if the goalkeeper makes an incredible save, it's part of the learning process. I'm delighted with Bradley, delighted that we were able to sign a player like him, with such a bright future. So I don't agree with those who criticize him. It's a game of error. Just recently, I saw a video in which Michael Jordan said that he missed 9,000 shots... Anyone who never misses cannot play at a high level. The important thing is to dare to take the shots. Well done to Bradley, it’s a marvel to have him.”

Less disparity in scorers: “I would like to have three attackers like Kylian Mbappé who score 17 goals but that is not possible. It does not work like that. Last season, with very high level players, world stars, the goals were better distributed between the players. But in all teams, Kylian will always score 40 or 50 goals. I hope he can score even more. That's what we want. For the rest, there are a lot of players who scored in our team. We do not only depend on Kylian Mbappé. (he corrects himself) Finally, we depend on Kylian Mbappé, who wouldn't depend on Kylian Mbappé? But there are other options, Vitinha scored goals, Gonçalo and Kolo too, Ousmane will score goals, Bradley too, Marco Asensio scored… There are a lot of players who scored. If we didn't have Kylian, we wouldn't have another player with 17 goals, but others who would have five, five, five... In the end, that would make maybe 20 between the four! That doesn't worry me. We obviously work to get the most out of the players in all situations.”

Ethan Mbappé: “More playing time in the first team? The future will tell… But I must say that Ethan is clearly the future of the club. He's not physically ready yet but he's training with us and you'd never guess he's only 17. He's a left-handed midfielder with a lot of qualities, a very good vision of the game, he's intelligent, I like him a lot and I'm sure he will soon make his appearance with the first team.

Comments collected at a press conference