“The first thing we must do is adapt to the calendar,” coach Luis Enrique emphasized during his press conference this past Saturday, just ahead of the final Ligue 1 match against their city rivals. Having already secured the French championship, Paris Saint-Germain undertook the short journey to Stade Jean-Bouin on Sunday with a clear objective: to “prepare for the final” of the Champions League, set to take place on May 30 in Budapest, Hungary, against Arsenal.
Yet, the reigning European champions did not deliver the performance their coach had envisioned, ultimately succumbing to a 2-1 loss. A visibly “disappointed” Luis Enrique confessed that he found “nothing positive from this match when you play football without ambition and without intensity; these are logical outcomes.”
“A more complicated season end than usual”
The Parisian players now have a crucial 12-day window without any competitive fixtures before their monumental European final. This situation marks a distinct difference from the previous season, when they contested the Coupe de France final against Reims (a 3-0 victory) just a week prior to their trip to Munich and their resounding 5-0 triumph over Inter Milan.
“This season is concluding in a more complicated fashion than we’re used to,” the Spanish tactician stated in his press conference. “Last year, playing the Coupe de France final proved highly motivating for us. Nevertheless, we still have two weeks to meticulously prepare for what will undoubtedly be the most significant match in our club’s history.”
A clear program is now taking shape for the squad. “We will incorporate everything: physical and mental rest, and then we will play a friendly match” next weekend “to increase our football load,” Luis Enrique elaborated. Close attention will be paid to the initial reports regarding Ousmane Dembélé’s injury, as he was substituted as a precaution just thirty minutes into Sunday’s game. Additionally, the potential full training returns of Willian Pacho, Nunos Mendes, Achraf Hakimi, and Quentin Ndjantou, all of whom resumed individual training on Saturday, are keenly awaited.
In preparation for last year’s final, the PSG players and staff flew to Munich on the Friday morning, the day before the match, to conduct a final training session at the Allianz Arena in the early evening.
