Why Luis Enrique Will Have Trouble Replicating Barcelona Style at PSG

Paris Saint-Germain has now had Luis Enrique for a few months as manager, so there’s a significant sample size to judge the Spanish tactician.

Emmanuel Petit, a former French international and World Cup winner, told Football Espana that Paris Saint-Germain’s success is at risk due to Luis Enrique’s single-minded approach.

Petit explained that he lacked the resources at PSG to implement the same methods he used with La Roja or at FC Barcelona.

“What he tries to do with Barcelona and the national team is not the same because he doesn’t have the same players,” Petit said. “Sometimes the way Paris is playing is very exciting and I’m enjoying it, but sometimes I’m getting very upset as well, frustrated too, because I have the feeling that he has his own vision. He said the same in a press conference recently, ‘My players have to adapt to the way he wants to play, not the other way around’.”

“I can understand that, but there is a limit. The limit is the quality of the players. The way you want your team to play depends on the profile of players you have in the dressing room as well, and the players you have on the pitch.”

PSG are four points clear at the top of Ligue 1, having dropped points in four games: three draws and a defeat to Nice, who are second. In the UEFA Champions League, they have been exposed and are at risk of going out if they do not beat Borussia Dortmund in their final game.

Enrique hasn’t won a game on the road in the group stage and will now need to do so for the French giants to advance into the knockout stages.