Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager Luis Enrique admitted that he didn’t exactly relish watching his team’s tense, late win over Girona in their Champions League match on Wednesday. The victory came after a calamitous error by Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who had denied PSG numerous times throughout the match, gifted the French champions a 1-0 win in the final minutes.
Despite the victory, Luis Enrique was far from jubilant. “I think we were superior, but Girona played us in circles and made us dizzy,” he told Movistar Plus. “At halftime, we said that if we didn’t press, we were going to suffer. We had to win, and it was very difficult.”
His frustration was evident in his post-match remarks. “It was very difficult. I told (Girona manager) Michel that this was worse than giving birth, with all due respect.”
The new Champions League format, where teams play eight matches against eight different opponents, with the top eight advancing automatically to the last 16 and the next 16 playing a further knockout round, has created uncertainty about the significance of individual results, a point Luis Enrique highlighted.
“Winning a match or any title is difficult, but we don’t know the dimension of this competition with this format,” he said. “We are going to have to play matches against teams that have easier schedules than ours. How many points are we going to need? There are many unknowns that need to be cleared up.”
Despite the victory, PSG suffered a setback as striker Marco Asensio limped off just before halftime. However, Luis Enrique remained confident in the strength of his squad. “He felt a twinge. Marco had started the season well. This is professional football, and we have a very good squad.”
PSG will next face Reims away in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
