Luis Enrique dismisses Maresca's criticism of Ligue 1 standard

Luis Enrique firmly rejected Enzo Maresca’s insinuations about Ligue 1’s standard during his Friday press conference ahead of the trip to Strasbourg. The Spanish coach was responding to comments made by Chelsea’s manager after his team’s defeat to PSG (4-2) in the Ligue des Champions on Wednesday, with Maresca suggesting that the Parisians were benefiting from a low-demand league to preserve their players.

“That’s the typical noise about PSG,” Luis Enrique said bluntly. “Before I even arrived here, I heard that Paris wouldn’t win the Ligue des Champions because of Ligue 1’s standard. And now that the club has won it, it’s also because of that. There will always be people to complain. We’re trying to win all our matches.”

When asked about his rotation management — he had notably fielded a reshuffled team against Mans in Ligue 1 before starting his regular eleven against City — the Paris coach refused to elaborate. “It’s an interesting subject, an interesting question, but I don’t want to explain anything. Every time we field an eleven, we think short term, medium term and long term. What matters is winning three points in Strasbourg and trying to win every match. The rest, I’ll leave it to you to analyze.”

PSG approaches this trip to Alsace with positive momentum: after a mixed start to the season, the club has strung together three consecutive Ligue 1 victories. A fourth win on Saturday would allow Ousmane Dembélé and his teammates to move closer to the top of the standings.