{"id":21728,"date":"2026-01-27T16:04:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/27\/luis-enrique-backs-psg-to-reach-finals-even-if-defending-champions-have-to-go-down-play-off-route-again\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T16:04:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:04:31","slug":"luis-enrique-backs-psg-to-reach-finals-even-if-defending-champions-have-to-go-down-play-off-route-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/27\/luis-enrique-backs-psg-to-reach-finals-even-if-defending-champions-have-to-go-down-play-off-route-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Luis Enrique backs PSG to reach finals even if defending champions have to go down play-off route again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>PARIS (AP) \u2014 Securing automatic qualification to the Champions League last 16 is not a big concern for Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique. <\/p>\n<p>He will help the team reach the finals again, no matter what route.<\/p>\n<p>PSG host Newcastle on Wednesday, with both teams tied in 6th and 7th place on 13 points. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">league phase table<\/span>. Only the top eight teams will advance directly, with the next 16 teams competing in a two-legged playoff to advance to the knockout stage.<\/p>\n<p>Luis Enrique said on Tuesday: &#8220;I think we&#8217;ll sign with a loss or a draw[against Newcastle]and be in the top 15 like we were last season.&#8221; &#8220;If you ask me, we will finish in the top 15 and then win the Champions League outright.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A number of other teams are just behind PSG on goal difference, with the other two teams tied on 12 points, meaning a loss or draw at the Parc des Princes could knock the defending champions out of the top eight. <\/p>\n<p>That won&#8217;t be a problem for Luis Enrique, who is already looking ahead to the future.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are a great team in the knockout stages and we will prove it once again,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Last season, PSG finished 15th in the group stage, but won their first championship. The French giants advanced through the play-offs with a 10-0 aggregate win over Brest, before defeating Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal en route to the final. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">5-0 victory over Inter Milan<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>PSG are close to full strength again after a long campaign <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">An injured start<\/span> To the season.<\/p>\n<p>However, manager Luis Enrique said after the 18-year-old midfielder&#8217;s arrival that he was still open to signing more players before the end of the January transfer window. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">Doro Fernandes<\/span> From Barcelona on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are open to the transfer market and will be ready if the opportunity arises,&#8221; coach Luis Enrique said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not easy to find quality players to strengthen the team. I think Doro will be an important player for us in the future.&#8221; ___<\/p>\n<p>AP Soccer: <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/psg-luis-enrique-champions-league-feab02cef0fb70375a170da9fadedd3a\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PARIS (AP) \u2014 Securing automatic qualification to the Champions League last 16 is not a big concern for Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique. He will help the team reach the finals again, no matter what route. PSG host Newcastle on Wednesday, with both teams tied in 6th and 7th place on 13 points. league phase<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21728","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Luis Enrique backs PSG to reach finals even if defending champions have to go down play-off route again - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/27\/luis-enrique-backs-psg-to-reach-finals-even-if-defending-champions-have-to-go-down-play-off-route-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Luis Enrique backs PSG to reach finals even if defending champions have to go down play-off route again - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PARIS (AP) \u2014 Securing automatic qualification to the Champions League last 16 is not a big concern for Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique. 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