After a narrow but important derby win against Paris Saint-Germain, head coach Luis Enrique faced the media late on Sunday night. The PSG manager kept his press conference brief, this time without addressing the match interruption, but he did reflect on the overall performance, Ousmane Dembélé’s form, and his team’s loss of control in the second half. Below are his comments in full.
What is your assessment of tonight’s match? Was it a successful return for Paris?
**“Good evening. The assessment is clear. It was a difficult match, just as we expected. I think we played a very good first half, with many opportunities and chances. We created enough situations to score more than one goal. It was a very good first half.
In the second half, normally there shouldn’t be many problems, but we made mistakes and had moments where we didn’t control the match the way we want to. In the end, the result is the most important thing for us, and it’s important to start 2026 with a win.”**
You also had a fairly complete squad again and were able to field key leaders. Was that important for you tonight?
“It’s vital. It’s important to have players back. After that, we need to recover the physical and technical level to improve our game even more. At that level, I hope that in the coming weeks we will recover all the players.”
You also got a very strong performance from Ousmane Dembélé. Are you satisfied, and do you expect him to return to last season’s level?
“This was Ousmane’s best match this season.”
**“That’s what we expect, and I hope that’s what will happen. Today, I think it was Ousmane’s best match this season. He has regained his level.
It’s important to manage match minutes. In four days, we will play a final, and that’s why we decided not to let him play the full 90 minutes.”**
You mentioned the second half earlier. What caused the issues? A lack of focus, the end-of-match management, or simply the first game after a break?
**“Who knows? I need to analyze the match to understand. But normally, problems appear when you don’t press properly.
What we want is to control the match all the time. I know that’s almost impossible, but it’s our objective. I’m very demanding with the players and with my team because controlling matches is important for the future.”**
What did it mean to win the first Paris derby of the year?
“It was a special match because it was the first derby and the first match of the year. I hope we can play more derbies in the future. These are different matches. We like having Paris FC in Ligue 1.”