Luís Enrique on PSG’s Champions League ambitions: ‘There is pressure on us.’

Luís Enrique has said that his Paris Saint-Germain side “are not scared”, despite admitting a “pressure” to win the UEFA Champions League, following Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad.

Carrying a 2-0 lead into Tuesday’s Round of 16 second-leg, Kylian Mbappé (25) had a decisive impact on the game, netting a brace to take PSG through 4-1 on aggregate. It is the first time in three years that Les Parisiens have made it through to the quarter-finals of the competition. 

Historically, there has been significant pressure on PSG to win the Champions League, which is a sort of holy grail for the club’s QSI owners. 

«There is no pressure on you» – Nasser Al-Khelaifi has given a lengthy speech after PSG secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals – the details. (RMC) ⬇️https://t.co/J81LzBlDdC

Whilst president Nasser Al-Khelaifi sought to take the pressure off his players in a lengthy post-match speech in the PSG dressing room, Luís Enrique did, however, admit pressure to win Europe’s most prestigious prize. 

“We have ambition. You have to ask rivals if they want to play against us [ …] We will see where we can go, but we will have the same ambition in the quarter-finals. The team has proved that they can beat anyone; we aren’t scared,” began Luís Enrique, who is in his first season at the Parc des Princes.

On winning the Champions League, he added, “It is the trophy to win since I arrived. There is pressure on us, but we aren’t scared. We were the youngest team in the group stages and that could be a handicap to put pressure on ourselves.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle