After watching PSG’s last two home games from the stands, manager Luis Enrique has insisted that he won’t be doing the same for Sunday’s trip to face Marseille.
In recent weeks, PSG have looked calm and composed in their backyard as they’ve registered a 2-0 win over Lens and a 4-0 triumph over Atalanta. These wins come just a matter of months after they were able to secure the treble, earning themselves a European Cup trophy for the first time. Now, they face an entirely new challenge as they prepare to battle it out with Marseille in a classic fixture within the context of French football.
With PSG starting the season strong, you can use a bet calculator as a quick way to calculate your return if you decide to back the boys from the capital. Either way, though, Marseille’s two wins and two losses to start Ligue 1 won’t mean a thing once the first whistle blows this weekend.
As for Enrique enjoying life in the stands, some felt like he’d carry that new tradition on heading into such a massive encounter. Alas, as reported by Goal, he doesn’t want to tempt fate in such an environment.
“Away from home, I don’t dare. Especially for my physical well-being, which is not at its best at the moment. It’s better not to play with fire. I’ll be down there with my players to feel the heat. It’s a classic of French football, a match that everyone wants to play and coach in an intense atmosphere. It’s always attractive for all the players.”
In terms of the new strategy, Enrique is borrowing from a different sport.
“I’ve seen rugby coaches watch games with a very different perspective for a long time. I like the opportunity to look for that improvement. I wanted to watch the first half from the stands and it’s magnificent. It’s different.
“I can control everything. It’s an interesting option that I’ll use in the future. After that, you can do the halftime talk perfectly because you’ve seen exactly who played well on the pitch. We have a lot of direct information. In that sense, it’s very positive.”
It’s no secret that the pressure is on for Paris Saint-Germain in the wake of such a positive campaign in 2024/25. The competition is getting stiffer, and whether it be on the continent or domestically, Enrique knows that they have to step things up to a new level in order to replicate their past success.
More often than not, we only tend to see managers take part in this kind of exercise when they have been actively sent to the stands. Alas, with Luis Enrique being considered one of the best managers in world football, it could be worth coaches taking a page out of his book.
PSG’s next home game will see them play host to Auxerre on September 27th, where all eyes are likely to be on the dugout once again.
