Luis Enrique in no hurry to wrap up league title
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique believes his side’s Ligue 1 meeting against Lyon will have no bearing on next month’s Coupe de France final, and also admitted he is in no hurry to wrap up the league title early.
PSG hosts Lyon at Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 on Monday (AEST) and the two sides will clash again in the cup final on 26 May (AEST) in Lille.
Enrique’s believes this meeting will be a good test for his side, fresh from its UEFA Champions League quarter-final success in midweek, but does not see it as a dress rehearsal for next month.
He said: “Tomorrow’s game will be completely different to the final in the Coupe de France based on the importance.
“But as a game that comes above others, given the context, it is a really good test for us to see how we are doing against the best team in Lyon.
“They have put in the best results and they have got to the final, so that shows they are working very hard and it will be a real test for us, but I don’t know if there will be any similarities between tomorrow’s game and the final. Finals are different.”
PSG goes into the Ligue 1 clash 10 points clear of Brest at the top of the table while Lyon is seventh, aiming to clinch a European spot.
Only six league matches remain for PSG, which is on track for a 12th league title, but Enrique is in no rush to wrap up first place so he can focus on the UEFA Champions League and the cup.
He said: “There is no urgency of any sort. The aim is the same as always, which is to win the league sooner or later.
“But what matters is being competitive in any match and representing this club in the best way and we want to be competitive whether we win it sooner or later because with the competitions that we are in we need to be competitive in every game, whether we win Ligue 1 in two or three weeks.”
Having already clinched the French Super Cup in January, PSG remains on course for four trophies after its midweek European success.
It completed a 6-4 aggregate success against Barcelona to reach the last four of the UEFA Champions League and Enrique praised the impact of all of his players against his former employer.
“In order to be able to compete for every trophy as I have said, you need a really big squad of at least 23 players,” he added.
“That is what we need here and as the season has progressed we have seen the importance of those players. As for who is important in the last month and a half we have seen the players need to be ready and work hard when we need them.
“I think the team is continuing to progress and I am happy to see the players’ attitude in training.”
