On September 10, Paris Saint-Germain will host SK Slovan Bratislava in the first match of the Champions League league phase. On the eve of the match, Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique attended a press conference. This article covers the first part of the press conference.

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Hello, Coach Luis Enrique, at the beginning of this season, the team has encountered some difficulties with results, but you expressed satisfaction with the team's performance—at least after the match against Monaco—in this situation, what is the current confidence level of the team? Do you feel that the players' thoughts align with yours? Are they emotionally affected by the recent results?

Hold on, if we only look at the results, then yes, this is a disastrous start to the season. But as coaches, we need to evaluate and measure everything that happens on the pitch. It's clear there are aspects we must improve and we do need to perform better. But I personally believe we deserved more points. But this is football, and we are constantly working to improve our performance and help the team get back on track.

Hello, Coach Luis, we've seen that in the past two seasons, Paris has had a certain advantage over competitors in the Champions League, although this advantage seems to be narrowing against teams like Arsenal and Bayern Munich. Do you think Paris can maintain this edge in the face of fierce European competition this season?

Regarding this competition, I think it is the top-tier and most difficult competition to play. We have to face many opponents of similar strength. How many teams do you think might win the next Champions League title? Maybe 5, 6, or 8 teams? The differences between these teams are very small. Our goal is to successfully qualify and lay a very good foundation at the start of the competition. Tomorrow's match might seem straightforward, but there are never easy matches in the Champions League. We must stay fully focused and be as prepared as possible to win.

Hello, on Friday the club announced contract renewals for several players. Do you hope that other players—such as Kvaratskhelia or Dembélé—can also stay with Paris long-term?

It depends on many factors; it's impossible to keep all players, which is normal in football. In the club's future plans, some players leave and new players join; these are natural personnel movements. I am very calm about this because we have the best sporting director and president, and they will evaluate and determine what is best for the team. Obviously, regarding the renewal negotiations you mentioned, we have been conducting discussions quietly and confidentially, and will continue to do so in the future.

Hello, Coach Luis Enrique, Marquinhos mentioned the team's defensive operations and the defensive difficulties you've encountered at the beginning of the season, including goals conceded in Ligue 1, the French Super Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup. How do you analyze these difficulties? Marquinhos also mentioned that you conducted targeted video analysis work this week. Could you elaborate on the specific areas you mainly studied and improved?

We definitely have to point out to the players the small areas where we can improve. Frankly, every time the opponent has taken a shot, we've also been a bit unlucky, because if you look back at our recent conceded goals, most of them were world-class goals of extremely high quality. So I'm not overly concerned about it.

At the end of the season, our goal difference and standing will naturally reflect our true deserved level, so I am very calm. But we do need to improve, and that is precisely what we have been trying to convey to the players this season: maintaining higher concentration is crucial. Because football is not an absolutely fair sport; there are many matches where you perform much better than your opponent, deserve more, but the results turn out differently. Therefore, we must improve our finishing efficiency in front of goal and also improve our ability to maintain concentration throughout the entire match.

Hello, in the past two seasons, you have demonstrated through actual performance that you can still win the Champions League by going through the playoffs. Does this mean that the real competition only begins in February? So in the first stage, is there no need for you to bear too much pressure?

No, I am constantly putting pressure on the team and the players. I very much hope that we can directly qualify for the top eight in the league phase to avoid participating in the playoffs. But with the kind of draw luck we usually encounter, this becomes extremely difficult. When you face opponents of this level, you are destined to go through a tough, painful tug-of-war and also drop points. This also means that, like the past two years, not only is it difficult to directly reach the top eight, but even qualifying in the top 24 takes effort.

But this doesn't mean our strength is weaker than other opponents; it just means we've had the toughest draws. Over time, we even get used to it and deal with it in a positive way. But as we said on the first day of this season, our goal is the same as in previous years: to directly qualify in the first stage. However, I must reiterate: this will be very difficult.

Coach Enrique, hello, could you talk about Y. Touré? He will be the coach of your opponent tomorrow, and as a young head coach and a former outstanding great player, how do you view his transition to coaching? What can his brilliant playing career as a midfielder bring to his coaching?

First of all, I do remember him. When he was playing for Barcelona's first team, I happened to be coaching Barcelona B, and I was very aware of his extraordinary quality as a top player. Subsequently, he worked as an assistant coach, accumulating valuable coaching experience, and this time is his first attempt as a head coach.

Through our tactical analysis of his team, he is a coach who strongly advocates ball possession and is deeply influenced by his playing experiences at Barcelona and Manchester City. We will see tomorrow whether he will continue with the same tactical ideas and maintain the same desire for passing and control, or if he will play more conservatively and defensively. This will be a tactical variable that we must learn to handle properly on the field.

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