Luis Enrique Confident PSG Can Raise Game Ahead Of Chelsea Showdown
Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward #10 Ousmane Dembele and Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian defender #05 Marquinhos react after the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final football match between England’s Chelsea and France’s Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said Tuesday his side had “no doubts whatsoever” that they can rediscover the form that led them to Champions League glory last season as they prepare to face Chelsea in the last 16. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672569656851-0"); }); “We have no doubts whatsoever. We are going into the best part of the season and we need to be able to handle the step up,” the Spaniard told reporters at PSG’s training ground when asked whether his team could return to the level of performance they showed a year ago. PSG welcome Chelsea to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday in the first leg of their last-16 tie, as the sides meet for the first time since the English outfit’s 3-0 victory in last July’s Club World Cup final. Chelsea’s players celebrate after winning the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final football match between England’s Chelsea and France’s Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) That was the only blemish on a remarkable last campaign for PSG which saw the Qatar-backed club win the Champions League for the first time in their history. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672569913499-0"); }); READ ALSO: Man City To Face Liverpool, Southampton Host Arsenal In FA Cup Quarter-Finals But the demands of that marathon season have left a trace, with numerous players struggling for form and fitness in 2025/26. PSG lost 3-1 at home to Monaco last weekend, a result which left them just a point clear of Lens at the top of Ligue 1. They finished 11th in the league phase of the Champions League after winning just one of their last five matches, and then scraped past Monaco in the play-off round. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672587799169-0"); }); But Luis Enrique is hoping that meeting Chelsea can bring the best out of his team, who eliminated three Premier League sides in the knockout rounds on the way to last season’s final. “All the English teams are exceptional, top-class sides, and Chelsea we know very well from having played against them last summer,” he said. “They have changed coach since then and some players too, but we know how difficult these games are and we will try to be ready.” Paris Saint-Germain’s Spanish head coach Luis Enrique holds a press conference at the Campus Paris Saint-Germain in Poissy, in the western outskirts of Paris, on March 10, 2026, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1672587060870-0"); }); The former Barcelona boss, who praised Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior for the “attractive and attacking” style he played during 18 months in Ligue 1 at Strasbourg, also said trying to retain the Champions League title was less daunting a prospect than winning it for the first time. “I think the first time was harder but the second time is not easy — We all know we can win the second one and that is what we will try to do.” AFP Join Our Whatsapp Channel To join: Simply click on the link below & turn on notifications to get the latest updates Subscribe to Our Newsletter In This Article: Champions league Chelsea PSg More Stories UCL: PSG Host Chelsea, Arsenal Face Leverkusen On Wednesday (FULL FIXTURES) Leverkusen Coach Questions Legality Of Arsenal’s Set-Piece Tactics Real Madrid’s Mbappe In Paris For Treatment On Knee Injury /* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * / var disqus_shortname = 'channelstelevision'; // Required - Replace example with your forum shortname / * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * */ (function() { var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text/javascript'; dsq.async = true; dsq.src = '//' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq); })(); Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.