French Cup win perfect preparation for Champions League, says Luis Enrique
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Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique celebrates after winning the Coupe de France.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS – Paris Saint-Germain players may have had their minds on a bigger prize, but they easily retained their French Cup on May 24 in a display, which manager Luis Enrique said, was the ideal way to prepare for the Champions League final.
A week before they face Inter Milan in a bid to win the club’s first and long sought-after European Cup, PSG made light work of Stade de Reims in a 3-0 win at the Stade de France.
“It was a very good match. We prepared for the final on the 31st in the best way,” Enrique told beIN Sports.
“This (Champions League) final is important. We want to make history. We’re ready.
“We are a real team and we want to get trophies.”
PSG had the job done in a first half where they scored three goals against a Reims side which offered little resistance, and Enrique now has the job of readying his side for the biggest game of their season.
It was clear that his mind was focused only on the Champions League, as he repeatedly mentioned it in his comments after the French Cup win.
“The Champions League final will be a special moment for everyone. There is no special preparation,” he said.
“We will have to deal with a lot of pressure, but we have to prepare for it in the best way. It’s not easy to manage everything around the team.”
The Spaniard has now clinched the domestic treble in his first two seasons at the club, a period in which PSG have moved away from the star-studded sides of the past, a tactic which may well lead them to their ultimate goal.
“We are a young team but with experience, with the desire to know what we want to do on the pitch,” Enrique said.
“We hope to celebrate the Champions League.”
The 55-year-old has already won a coveted continental treble as manager of Barcelona, and now wants to do the same with the French club who are aiming to win all before them this season.
“We have three of the four titles that we can win, and we’re on the last step,” he added.
“I hope we can make PSG history.
“The team showed a lot of commitment and all that is preparing us for the match we are expecting, which will be decisive and which can allow us to make history.”
REUTERS
