Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique admits he is wary of Olympique de Marseille despite his team’s rivals in Sunday’s Classique enduring a turbulent week.
PSG’s new coach would have been looking forward to pitting his wits in this fixture against Marcelino García Toral, like him a native of the northern Spanish region of Asturias and a former Sporting Gijón player. However, Marcelino quit OM during the week while doubts were cast over the future of president Pablo Longoria at the club following a heated meeting with fan representatives.
With Marcelino gone despite not losing a Ligue 1 Uber Eats game, Jacques Abardonado took interim charge of Marseille and oversaw a spirited performance in their 3-3 draw away to Ajax in Amsterdam in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
“They played very well against Ajax and in Ligue 1 they have not lost a match,” Luis Enrique told reporters on Saturday when asked if it was a good time for Paris to be facing their bitter rivals.
“The circumstances are a bit different, that’s true, but that is often the case anyway because teams tend to play in a different way against PSG. We have analysed how Marseille played under Marcelino and we are analysing how they played under Abardonado. We just need to adapt.”
First taste of Classique
Luis Enrique and his backroom staff are still getting used to managing in France and this will be their first taste of what is the biggest game of the domestic season for PSG and their supporters.
“We have known since we arrived what the important matches are, which ones motivate the supporters and the players. It is one of the biggest games of the season. We need to make sure we play with intensity, but also be careful not to play with too much, because that can be dangerous in a game like this,” said the former Barcelona and Spain coach.
PSG come into the match buoyed by their performance in beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League in midweek. Kylian Mbappé scored his eighth goal in five outings this season in that match. The only other Paris players to have found the net this season are Achraf Hakimi and Marco Asensio with two each, but the coach insists that is not a concern.
“It is a good worry to have,” he said. “If you have a player like Kylian Mbappé, who can score 50 goals and provide 25 assists, that makes things easier. Our objective is that he gets better and those around him help him do that. I am sure the other players will also score and set up plenty of goals.”
