Although Paris Saint-Germain made history with a 6-0 away victory over Villarreal, head coach Luis Enrique did not appear overly excited at the post-match press conference, emphasizing that the knockout stages are what decide the champions.
What is your strongest feeling after this match? Was this your most dominant performance in European competition this season?
Luis Enrique: "When you start a game this way, pressing very well and being efficient in converting the chances you create, the game changes. We scored three goals in the first 15 minutes, which completely changed the course of the match, so this game was very different from what we had expected."
High pressing and winning the ball back are characteristics of your team's play, and at least two goals came from this. Can you elaborate on that?
Luis Enrique: "If there is one thing I want to emphasize, it's our attitude: no matter which stadium we're in and no matter the score, we always insist on playing the same way. Today was a test of the ambition this team and these players still have. It's a real pleasure to have a team like this. When you don't overthink the game, don't try to hold on to a certain score, and just focus on continuing to play your way, you get positive results like today's."
Despite injuries and various difficulties, you seem unaffected, and the squad's overall cohesion is excellent. Is this the strongest squad you have ever coached?
Luis Enrique: "That's a difficult question to answer, because I have had the privilege of coaching many excellent players. But we are certainly enjoying this experience. My coaching staff and I, and I think the players themselves, feel very comfortable in the current situation. What we like most is being able to deliver performances like this and keep showing everyone that we have ambition and a desire to keep winning."
Mayulu had very limited playing time at the start of the season and even missed a matchday squad once. But he has always kept a positive attitude, both in training and after coming on as a substitute. Does his performance tonight also reflect the character of your team and the abilities of your players?
Luis Enrique: "I wouldn't single out any one player as the symbol of this team. The true symbol is all the players who have had playing time this season. With injuries, changing circumstances, and the continuity of the schedule and fixtures, everyone will get a chance to prove their ability. I'm confident they all have that level, especially Mayulu, as well as Quentin Ndjantou, Davy-Boli, Beraldo, Dro Fernández, and all the players in similar situations. In my opinion, what truly deserves praise is that they always train with extremely high intensity, just to be ready for the day the team needs them and their help. That is a prerequisite for being part of our team. When you have this kind of collective ambition, everything becomes very beautiful."
Tonight was a night of several records. You scored four goals in 16 minutes, which had never happened before, and this is also Paris Saint-Germain's biggest away win in club history. What are your thoughts on that? Do you value the final big win or the performance in the early stages of the match more?
Luis Enrique: "Without a doubt, the performance in the early stages of the match. When the score becomes 0-3, no team can easily cope with that. You can certainly try to change the course of the game, but it's very hard for the opponent to recover from such a scoreline. That's normal. I don't like such a scoreline, but we always want to respect the opponent by sticking to the same way of playing. You could say that is a characteristic of our team: we are very stable and reliable. Think back to the Champions League final against Inter. We never thought about sitting deep or just playing to hold on to the score. That is not the character of this team. For us, the way to respect the opponent is to always maintain the same intensity. However, given the circumstances Villarreal faced today, I think it was indeed difficult for them to cope with that scoreline. I'm not particularly happy to see the opponent in such a difficult situation."
How do you explain those crazy eight minutes? It was almost a perfect storm. I also wanted to ask about the substitutions at 0-5. The day before, you said you hoped the team would maintain its intensity. Even with a 0-5 lead, we saw you very angry about what happened during the substitutions, and you stayed fully invested in the game, constantly reminding players to keep attacking and playing. You never stopped looking for goal-scoring opportunities.
Luis Enrique: "In football, I've seen teams score three goals in five minutes. There is no safe score in a game; you must always be aware of what's happening on the pitch. As for what happened with those three substituted players today, it was absurd! In short, they should reread the rules of the game, because it was truly ridiculous. If the score were still 0-0 and you made me substitute three of my players, and then a yellow card was shown because we pushed a player back onto the pitch even though he could still continue playing, I would push all three of them back on! Anyway, please, let's be serious. I always respect referees, but the rules of the game must clearly cover all these situations, because this is simply ridiculous. When I saw three of our players standing outside the pitch, I thought: What is going on? What is this? Is this a kids' game? In short, we should respect the rules, and we should also respect professionals. We respect the entire refereeing team. What else is there to say? I'll stress it again: no team in the world can concede three goals in the first 8, 10, or 15 minutes of a game and not find itself in as much trouble as Villarreal did today. That's a fact, and I'm very sure of it."
You have now scored 20 goals in four games. As far as I know, no team had previously scored four goals in 17 minutes in a Champions League match. You keep making history and breaking this team's records. I imagine you must be very satisfied now.
Luis Enrique: "Yes, but these things don't really mean much. On the day of the final in Madrid, only one team will be champions, and our goal is to reach that final. Of course, qualifying directly is good. In the past two seasons, we didn't finish in the top eight. I remember we were 11th and 15th, but we still ended up becoming champions. If we don't become champions in the end, then finishing in the top eight means nothing. So I'm happy to see the team have such ambition, and I'm happy with the performances the players are putting in. But as for this competition itself, the real challenge won't start until February or March next year. The knockout stages take place in those months, and that's when we truly need to prove our strength."