Luis Enrique’s ‘disrespectful’ line-up to blame for Newcastle humbling – he forgot it’s HELL at St James’ Park
France and Chelsea great Frank Leboeuf did not hold back when discussing Paris Saint-Germain’s performance at Newcastle.
The Parisiens were humbled 4-1 at St James’ Park, their heaviest Champions League group-stage defeat since Qatar Sports Investments bought the club in 2011.
In the Magpies second game back in the competition in two decades, they comprehensively outplayed the 2020 finalists, piling plenty of pressure on manager Luis Enrique.
The former Spain and Barcelona manager opted to start the game with four forwards – Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos.
That decision saw PSG completely overrun in midfield, and Leboeuf wasn’t at all surprised when speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.
“For me the person responsible for PSG’s defeat is Luis Enrique,” he said. “You have to respect football and you have to respect your opponent.
“Playing four up front at St James’ Park? You don’t know St James’ Park then. It’s hell. If you think you’re going to go and just play football without fighting and just counterpressing, you’re wrong.
“It’s true that Kylian Mbappe, and also Kolo Muani and Dembele, didn’t work hard enough when they got the ball. Yesterday nothing happened, but even the keeper and Marquinos made mistakes.”
Leboeuf, a two time FA Cup winner with Chelsea, has plenty of experience of St. James’ Park, and came away surprised with Luis Enrique’s ignorance.
He added: “Overall, how do you want to cope with 12 men? Because that’s what it was for Newcastle, 12 men fighting against two players in the middle of the park, you lose the balance in the middle of the park and you lose the game.
“I want to give them [PSG] a chance and I don’t want to bury them too early, but they made so many mistakes, and
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