PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique could only crouch and watch as Monaco’s attacks came in waves and his players were powerless to stop them.
Luis Enrique’s body language has been saying for weeks that the team is playing better in attack and defense than last season, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
And after that he couldn’t forget about Friday Lost 3-1 at home to Monaco In Ligue 1, it might have been much heavier considering how easily the visitors’ quick counter-attacks penetrated PSG’s midfield and flanks.
“We were very inaccurate in many parts of the game and made some unusual mistakes. We made mistakes, we really made a lot of mistakes,” he said. “This is an important period of the season, but it’s up to us to turn things around and get our confidence back. I want to be optimistic.”
It was PSG’s seventh loss of the season in a competitive match and fourth loss in their last 13 matches. Chelsea next play the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at home on Wednesday.
“What I want to say is that I don’t want to lose faith in this team,” Luis Enrique said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself as well as his players. “We know that playing in the Champions League is not the best result.”
PSG’s strong advance first champions league trophy Last season surprised many observers, as PSG almost won another trophy but narrowly missed out. club world cup final Chelsea on July 13th.
It was an exhausting season, with some players playing around 60 games and little time to recover before facing Tottenham in the UEFA Super Cup a month later.
Main players such as Ballon d’Or winners Ousmane Dembeleforward Desiree Duet and a midfield strategist Joan Neves Muscle injuries have continued this season, suggesting he didn’t get enough rest over the summer.
Dembele and Vicinha, for example, played the full game against Tottenham. Three weeks later, Dembele and Doue both started against Tottenham and improved their form. muscle related injuries He is playing for the French national team.
physical and mental fatigue
PSG’s high-octane play requires constant mobility from speedy players flying all over the field, while counter-pressing from forwards requires Dembele to attack defenders – as he did so efficiently in PSG’s 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
However, this style of play is very physically demanding and looks exhausting for some of PSG’s players, especially Vicinha, who is playing well below his best.
This led to clumsy on-field mistakes by midfielders like Vicinha and Warren Zaire-Emery, who scored the opening goal against Monaco by failing to dribble out of the penalty area. Lee Kang-in lost the ball in the middle until Monaco’s third goal.
“That’s one of the things we need to improve on, we gave the ball away clumsily,” PSG left-back Nuno Mendes said. “We don’t like running towards our own goal (defense). We like running towards the opponent’s goal.”
Luis Enrique admits mental fatigue is creeping in and affecting his confidence.
“When you have a problem, the first thing your mind does is shut down. It’s a weird, uncomfortable feeling,” he says. “Confidence is not something you can buy at a Monoprix (supermarket). It has to be built every day. There are some challenges, but we have to keep hoping that we can turn things around.”
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