Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique has no doubts his players can cover enough hard yards as they prepare to face Brest for a place in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France.
After Brest fought back from 2-0 down at half-time to draw their recent Ligue 1 match at Parc des Princes, Enrique faced questions over the squad’s fitness levels.
In the Champions League group stages, PSG were one of the lowest ranked teams for distance covered per match on average, at 113.84 kilometres.
Many of the PSG players are reported to have hired personal trainers to add extra fitness work on top of their sessions at club training.
Enrique, though, rejected suggestions his players needed to build up some additional stamina.
“My teams play with possession to make the opponent run, so we do it less – not a single of my teams in my career has not run enough miles to win games,” the PSG coach said.
“In the Champions League, behind Manchester City, we are the team with the most ball possession – and we are much stronger when we have the ball.
“That doesn’t mean an opponent can’t have the ball more than us, the team which creates the most chances and takes the fewest is us.”
Enrique told a press conference: “For several years now, players have been calling on physical trainers, physiotherapists, osteopaths and nutritionists.
“If there is co-ordination and there are good balances (of training), that seems good to me.
“The players are becoming more and more professional and the club has a clear line on what it means to live the life of a professional and to have the best professionals to help the players.
“The vast majority have a chef at home, they have all the advantages – I would have liked to have a chef and a physiotherapist just for me (as a player), but it was a different time.”
Enrique hopes PSG can learn from their last meeting with Brest to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the French Cup.
“The advantage of playing two matches against Brest in a row is that we know our difficulties,” said Enrique, who will be without forward Randal Kolo Muani because of a viral infection.
“It is hard to press them, so we have to be better with and without the ball.
“We expect a difficult match, but it will also be a different match, since it is the Coupe de France.”
Enrique added: “In the championship, it is a lot of consistency. In the cup, it is knockout – if we have a bad match, we can be eliminated.
“It is a different approach and you have to be very strong mentally.”
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior
Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.
Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.
The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.
"Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.
"We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.
"Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."
Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.
Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.
"He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.
"When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.
"Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."
Ancelotti: Real Madrid are never 'undervalued' in the Champions League
Real Madrid always feel respected by every team in the Champions League, so says coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Madrid overcame holders Manchester City on penalties in the quarter-finals to tee up a last-four clash with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
City dominated much of the second leg in Manchester, yet after a 4-4 draw on aggregate, it was Ancelotti's team who got over the line.
Fourteen-time European champions Madrid, who allowed Karim Benzema to leave for Saudi Arabia at the end of last season, were not fancied to get past City, but Ancelotti does not think his team have been undervalued in this year's competition.
"Madrid is never undervalued in this competition, because everyone knows what we can do," he said.
"We feel respect from everyone."
City's Bernardo Silva called Madrid a "strange" team, a comment that left Ancelotti nonplussed.
"I don't know. We are not strange," he added.
"I think the weight of the shirt weighs in this competition, like history, but I have nothing to answer Bernardo Silva with.
"He is a fantastic player. Last year [City] had a good time and this year we had a good time. That's football."
When it was put to him that Madrid go into this tie as favourites, Ancelotti replied: "It does not worry me. We have confidence to stand up to a team that has not had a great Bundesliga season, but has knocked out Arsenal.
"It comes from eliminating a very strong team in Europe. In the Champions League, history counts a lot and that works in our favour."
Ancelotti has faced Thomas Tuchel nine times in his career, winning three of those games, losing four and drawing twice, and the Italian anticipates another stern test.
He said: "In terms of quality, they are strong in transition, they can play in different ways and are very dangerous. We are two who do not have a very clear identity. We can both play in different ways."
Tuesday's first leg also marks a return to Munich for Ancelotti, who coached Bayern between 2016 and 2017.
"It is very beautiful, a fantastic city, although unfortunately German has never entered my head," Ancelotti said.
"My son did, he learned very well. Munich is a spectacular city to live in."
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