PSG-Dortmund: “Calm”, Mbappé, “like an orchestra”… Luis Enrique gives the keys to the match

“It's a perfect state of mind to face such an episode in your professional or personal life, to be prepared for things to go wrong and, if necessary, to turn the situation around. Not feeling affected, or as little as possible, and being able to have a good result. Coming back to football, we spent the season talking about injustice with the players: the ball goes out, continues, there was a foul, continue... I never know what the referee's interpretation will be, for or against I always tell them to continue to compete to be ready. Tomorrow (Tuesday), even if we find ourselves faced with a situation that we have not prepared for, I am certain that my team will fight.

“Their role will be vital, as it has been throughout the season. We have an absolute guarantee that the supporters are fully behind us, they always have been. And especially when we needed it, and it doesn't happen that often because we're not in trouble that often. But the atmosphere in Dortmund was magnificent. I'm waiting for this atmosphere that we always have at the Parc des Princes. I hope we can celebrate the victory and the qualification together.”

“It’s the only sentence I know in French (smile). And since it's a phrase that I like... I always think that my team will win. We're going to win, that's for sure (in French)! The pronunciation remains Asturian that said (smile).”

SEE ALSO – Mbappé and the Parisians in training before PSG-Dortmund on Tuesday in the C1 semi-final return

“That’s always what we look for as a coach, this doubt, what match it will be… I know what match we will try to play. From there, the result will also depend on the attitude of the opponent. In a return match, there is a team that is eliminated at kickoff based on the result of the first leg. This is PSG. But if the score changes, the attitude may change. However, our mentality remains to play whatever the result, we have to be better than the opponent, create chances and win. Our mentality will not change, it will be the same from the first to the last minute.

“The objective is not to win by two goals but to win. If you think you have to score two goals, it seems far away. We are going to play. If we score in the 90th minute, extra time, we continue... We must not score two, but first one and win the match. It's something we've seen a lot in football and in this type of match. You can score two goals in three minutes, it happens. But be careful, you can also take some... You have to be 100% concentrated in attack and defense. If we concede a goal, it doesn't matter, it happened to us against Barça. You have to stay calm. If we score two goals quickly it will be up to the opponent to react. It will be a match similar to the first round, a very competitive match, quite balanced with high level with or without the ball. It will be difficult for both teams.

“I work on this every day, implementing an idea, defense, attack… And then, those who must carry this idea are the players. You have the idea, it's important, but they must participate in this improvement process. And the team responds exceptionally well in this area. We always see room for improvement after each round. And that was still the case in Dortmund. From there, we train, we try to progress in training and arrive with as much confidence as possible. A coach is a leader who must generate confidence in the players. And I have confidence in my team.”

“It’s obvious that there’s more to life than just work. You have to be able to do things outside of work to be better at work and that's what I try to do. I love sport, cycling, playing padel. I also like going to the gym and having leisure time. And from a professional point of view, it was a very good week, we had time to analyze, to transmit this room for progress to the players, to the team. We had training, first on defense one day, then attack the next and today (this Monday), a normal match eve session, with more relaxation, fun, we try to relax everyone, we think about how lucky we are to play in a Champions League semi-final. And tomorrow will be the day of the big party, we will be able to enjoy our supporters and be in competition.

“As you can imagine, I have a very deep analysis, it is based on my knowledge of my players. Each attacker has particular characteristics, and it can always surprise when we see a coach take out a certain player, bring in another... We have things that we understand, that we imagine for a match and we expect certain types of qualities. This is what makes it possible to decide who will play. I have full confidence in all my players, in all sectors, I think they can all start the matches, and we will have to choose tomorrow.

“That's what's wonderful about football and also very thankless, even unfair. But it's a sport in which anything can happen during a season, just like in life in fact. There are a lot of negative things but we live this process by trying to bring in the best team. It's very rewarding as a coach. Especially when you have a result like this. But our objective, very clearly, is to go to the Champions League final. We play very little of it when we are a player or a coach. Before reaching this final, we will have to be better than this great Borussia team.”

“How can we allow him to have more opportunities to score than in the first leg? We always have a common goal. This is why we start from behind to bring the ball to the attackers in the best conditions. As it is a team, we also ask the attackers that as few balls reach the defense as possible. It's very simple, very basic. We're all part of a team, it's like an orchestra and we all play an instrument. Players can be great, world stars, but they have to help in defense, and our defenders, no matter how good they are in defense, have to help bring the ball into the opponent's box. How can we get Mbappé to be more involved, perhaps by rezoning? It's very simple, each match is different from the previous one. You have to determine where the spaces are in relation to the opposing defense. Between the lines, on the sides... Dortmund will press high and behind, they will fall back and there will be spaces between the lines. Our goal, and this has been the case since I started as coach, is to ensure that our best players participate as much as possible. I don't want the attacker to come and get the ball in the middle but to touch the ball in the truth zone. For the rest, I know that you always really want to talk about Kylian, I'm used to talking about Kylian, but the objective is always to find our best players. Afterwards, Dortmund will not leave our attackers free from any marking at the penalty spot. They will push him to touch the ball in the middle. What I want is for him to touch her where he is dangerous.”

“(the question is asked by a Spanish colleague) It’s a very Spanish question and it’s your style, always thinking about the worst, about what can be negative… What would happen? Nothing, life would continue in the event of elimination, the sun will rise, and when there is sun in Paris, it's always wonderful. As athletes, we would applaud the opponent even if he does not deserve it. It would be really hard, but we would go back the next day and try to qualify for the final next year.”

Comments collected at a press conference