Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique maintains confidence in his team despite a nightmarish start to their Champions League season as they prepare to visit Salzburg.
PSG have four points from five games in Europe's premier club competition this season and are 25th in the new 36-team league table, two points behind the play-off places.
They face Premier League champions Manchester City and last season's Bundesliga runners-up Stuttgart in their final two games of the new year, and the Opta supercomputer now gives them just a 56% chance of participating participate in the knockout phase of the play-offs.
However, their defeats so far have come against high-caliber opponents in Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Arsenal, while they remain unbeaten in Ligue 1 after 14 games and have a five-point lead at the top.
Luis Enrique has seen enough from his team to believe they can turn things around from Tuesday. He said: “There are no easy away games, neither in the league nor in the Champions League.
“Tomorrow is a match that is crucial for us and I hope it doesn't affect my team too much.
“From the nineteen to twenty games I have seen, I like what I see, my team gives me confidence. The magic formula is clear: create more chances than your opponents.”
“You have to create 20, 25 or even 30 chances, that's all the better. And we have to concede as few goals as possible and ensure that our opponents get fewer chances. We are going to try to improve. We have to keep our confidence high .We have to keep pushing.”
Salzburgerland
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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) December 9, 2024
Asked if he wanted to achieve a specific number of points to ensure PSG reached the knockout stages, the Spaniard added: “Nobody knows how many points will be needed.
“That is impossible to guess. We do not want to go into that. We have to win the three remaining games, that is our goal.”
PSG have one of the youngest squads in the Champions League with an average age of 24, but their coach refuses to blame their shortcomings on inexperience.
“I think our young players have experience. Those who were here last season are used to high standards,” he added.
“I try to get the best out of the individual and the team. I like games like tomorrow's. These are games you have to win. I never select my players based on their age, but based on what I see the training.”
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