Luis Enrique is warning Paris Saint-Germain they must plan for Newcastle United’s high pressing and ‘intensity’ ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League rematch at the Parc des Princes.
That 4-1 hammering at St James’ Park still stinging, the PSG squad will surely not have needed the former Barcelona boss to remind them of what could go wrong if they are not at their very best and their most fired-up against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United.
The Magpies outran, outfought and outscored Paris Saint-Germain on Tyneside. And, with Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, Miguel Almiron and co ready to run through brick walls again, Enrique is under no illusions that his team cannot afford another half-hearted performance against a side smelling blood.
PSG face Newcastle United again
“They’re physically very strong. And they’re able to press high and hard, with a lot of intensity,” Enrique tells the PSG website. “We know that that will be the case again, so we’ll need to be ready.
“Our aim is always the same regardless of the match. To keep the ball in the opposition’s half in order to stop them from creating chances. In the Champions League, your opponents have more quality. But we still want to have the same aim of being at our best in both attack and defence.”
Enrique faced more criticism than most of his players on the back of that St James’ shellacking, a four-man frontline leaving PSV’s midfield exposed up against the energy and the tenacity of Guimares, Sandro Tonali and Sean Longstaff.
Newcastle, however, head to the French capital with pressure on their own shoulders. Successive defeats to Borussia Dortmund mean that PSG victory is their only group-stage win so far, with an early exit from the competition now a very real possibility.
Make or break for Newcastle’s hopes
“It’s difficult to give instant answers about tactical setups,” Enrique adds. “Tactical outlines make sense, but no team in the world plays in a fixed shape. Everything changes depending on the game and on where the ball is. We adapt to our needs at any given moment.
“It all changes if we press high, if we press low or if we don’t get into the final third. And it also all changes depending on our opponents. We have a basis that we’ll start the game with.”
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