Luis Enrique has warned Paris St Germain’s Ligue 1 rivals that his side can only improve in the second half of the season.
The reigning champions have taken 36 points from their first 15 games of the season, winning 11, drawing three and losing only once, and travel to Lille on Sunday having won their last eight games in the league.
Warren Zaire-Emery’s second-half strike also salvaged a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund in midweek to ensure PSG advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League as runners-up in Group F.
However, Enrique feels there is more to come as they prepare to face a Lille side who are unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions and have kept five consecutive clean sheets.
“I have no doubt that we will be better in the second half of the season,” Enrique said in his pre-match press conference. “All my teams have been better afterwards.
“We will regain players who were injured, but we also have the possibility of buying other players if needed. I have no reason to be pessimistic.
“When I see what we have accomplished in the first part of the season, I can only be positive.
“Lille have been unbeaten for a long time and are a team that plays quite like us. They have a very good coach [Paulo Fonseca], I admire the style of football he plays.
“They can cause a lot of problems for the opposition. They play well both with and without the ball, they have a very good defence, they’re aggressive. They’re one of the best teams in the league.”
PSG’s place in the last 16 of the Champions League was up in the air in the final round of group fixtures, with AC Milan and Newcastle poised to take advantage of any slip up.
That looked a possibility when Karim Adeyemi fired Dortmund in front early in the second half and Newcastle held a 1-0 lead over Milan, but Zaire-Emery quickly equalised for PSG and Milan fought back to win 2-1 and secure a Europa League berth.
“We gave our all in every match and we faced top opponents,” Enrique said of his side’s Champions League campaign to date. “Our stats were good.
“We are positive and optimistic, we know that there will be other big matches. We always want to improve, it’s the club’s objective.
“This group in the Champions League has helped us to grow, there were some very good opponents, worthy of the round of 16 or quarter-finals.”
PSG warming up for Coupe de France final
Paris Saint-Germain will use their final Ligue 1 matches of the season to prepare for the Coupe de France final, so says Luis Enrique.
PSG were beaten at home by Nice early in the season, and are away to the same opposition on Wednesday for their penultimate league game.
Having sealed the Ligue 1 title, PSG failed to overcome Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals, losing 2-0 on aggregate.
While a visit to Wembley on June 1 evaded them, PSG do have the chance to claim another trophy when they take on Lyon in the Coupe de France final on May 25.
When asked if PSG wanted revenge for their loss to Nice earlier in the campaign, Luis Enrique told reporters: "No, not at all to be honest, it is not about revenge, they played very well.
"I congratulated them at the time, there is no desire for revenge.
"They are fully motivated because they are trying to play in Europe next season. For us, the situation is linked to the Coupe de France final. Everyone here should be motivated. Every game at this club matters, there are no friendly games."
PSG lost their second league game of the season on Sunday at home to Toulouse, but are still unbeaten away from home in Ligue 1 this season. Again, Luis Enrique is unconcerned with this statistic.
"I am not bothered about that," he said.
"What is important is that the players who play do so and represent the French capital and the fans in the best way."
Last week, Kylian Mbappe confirmed his departure from PSG at the end of the season, but Luis Enrique gave a rather cryptic answer when asked by a Spanish reporter about the player's possible future with Real Madrid.
"Today it's raining, but it's also a very beautiful day because you can feel this different air," Luis Enrique said with a smile.
"It reminds me of Gijon where I am from. I think I have answered your question."
Departing Mbappe backs Dembele to become Ligue 1's best
Kylian Mbappe backed Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Ousmane Dembele to fill his boots when he exits the club, after winning his fifth successive Ligue 1 Player of the Year award.
The France captain announced last week he will leave the Ligue 1 champions at the end of this season after seven years at the Parc des Princes, during which he became their all-time top scorer with 256 goals.
Mbappe has been heavily linked with a blockbuster move to LaLiga champions Real Madrid, but has thus far remained tight-lipped on where his future lies.
Either way, when he departs the club, the 25-year-old is confident his void can be filled by compatriot Dembele, who arrived from Barcelona last August and has recorded the joint-most assists during his maiden French top-flight campaign, with eight.
"I have shared and played with incredible players, like Dembele who is here, he is a friend and one day he will pick up this award," Mbappe said at the ceremony, where he extended his record haul of Player of the Year crowns.
"I thank the club as a whole, the coach, who has helped me and trusted me, his staff, the doctors, all the people at the club, the sporting management, the president, the shareholders of the club. I have always tried to do my best.
"Now, I'm turning the page in my life. Everything that comes next is super exciting, but that's another subject.
"I know that it was very important to my father that I made history in Ligue 1 before I left. I think that, with humility, I have done everything [he] wanted."
Kurzawa to follow Mbappe through PSG exit door
Defender Layvin Kurzawa will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season after nine years with the Ligue 1 giants, he announced on Monday.
Left-back Kurzawa joined PSG from Monaco in 2015 for €23million and has made 154 appearances for the Parisiens.
However, the 31-year-old has fallen out of favour in recent years and has played just eight minutes in one match throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Kurzawa was loaned out to Premier League club Fulham in the 2022-23 season after not playing for the French side for more than 11 months, but he made just six appearances for the English outfit.
"I've had some great times, as well as some tough ones," he wrote in a post on X. "But I want you to know that my love for Paris Saint-Germain is sincere.
"I know that our relationship has sometimes been complicated, but I want you to know that I can only take back the positive and that I have been privileged to have called the Parc des Princes my home for all these years."
Kurzawa's announcement comes after Kylian Mbappe played his final home game for PSG on Sunday, a 3-1 defeat to Toulouse.
Mbappe is widely expected to join Champions League finalists Real Madrid after opting not to activate a one-year extension clause in the big-money deal he signed with PSG in 2022.
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