PSG coach Luis Enrique urges ‘calm’ in Dortmund Champions League decider

Paris Saint-Germain’s Spanish coach Luis Enrique looks on during a press conference at the “campus” of French L1 Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) football club in Poissy, western Paris, on May 6, 2024, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Borussia Dortmund. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique sought to take the pressure off his side going into Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund, telling them not to worry about having to win by two goals to reach the final.

PSG must overturn a 1-0 deficit from last week’s first leg after a Niclas Fuellkrug goal gave Dortmund a narrow victory in Germany.

“The objective is not to play to win by two goals, it is just to win. You can’t afford to think about having to win by two goals,” Luis Enrique told reporters on Monday, weighing up the possibility of the tie being decided in extra time and even penalties.

“We need to score one first of all, and win the match.”

PSG are looking to repeat their heroics in the quarter-finals, when they lost 3-2 at home to Barcelona in the first leg but qualified with a 4-1 win in the return — despite conceding the opening goal in Spain.

“It doesn’t matter if we concede — it happened against Barcelona — we’ll just need to stay calm,” the Spaniard added.

He also said the key to getting top scorer Kylian Mbappe more involved in the game was not necessarily to make him drop deeper to get on the ball.

Mbappe has scored 43 goals for PSG this season, including two in the second leg against Real Sociedad in the last 16, and two more away in Barcelona, but struggled to make a major impact in Dortmund last week.

“Our objective is that