It was a Luis Enrique in great form and determined to answer his critics who appeared at a press conference three days after the elimination in the French Cup and one day before hosting Lille in Ligue 1.

The Spanish coach was notably questioned about Bradley Barcola's difficulties in front of goal, Paris Saint-Germain's lighter schedule, and the transfer window. Here are his comments in full, transcribed and translated by us.

Is tomorrow not a pivotal moment for PSG's season? The moment to show after the defeat and elimination in the French Cup that PSG is still on the right track to have a season full of promise, like last year?

"Really? I don't think so. Because if there are doubts about our team, pff, 'Apaga y vámonos*' as we say in Spanish. I don't know how you say that in French. If you have doubts, 'Apaga y vámonos'. That's my feeling. 'Apaga y vámonos', I don't know how you say it in French. What I mean is, I can accept that people doubt the team, but I can't understand it. What's the problem? Do you think we're going to win all the trophies every season? Football doesn't work like that. You have to know how to value and accept what we have done, and I have no doubts about the type of team we are, about the way we want to play. And tomorrow, we are going to play against a real team, Lille. We know the difficulty of this match. Every match we've played against them, away and at home, has been difficult. But I don't think tomorrow we have to show that we are… We are the same team as last year, the same team as at the start and end of the season. We play well, we play less well; it depends on each match, but if some people have doubts, OK, but I don't understand them. But that is not important."

Bradley Barcola makes incredible differences with his first touches; he takes space, finds depth. He has a very different profile from Dembélé, Doué, and Ramos, but he has a slight problem with finishing in front of the goal sometimes. We saw it in Bilbao, against Paris FC. Can it improve? Is it serious, not serious? How do you see this situation?

"I have to be careful what I say because to manage the improvement of each player, I shouldn't just talk about Bradley Barcola. All forwards can improve their finishing, and on this point, I have no problem with the players. But they know, because I always say it, that it is important to know what the areas of improvement are for each player, offensively and defensively. And nothing more. I am happy with what I have seen. Of course, our lack of efficiency and the performance of the opposing goalkeeper played a big part in the fact that we did not win that match, and of course, we can improve on that (speaking about offensive efficiency)."

Last year, with the trophies, the essential foundation was your midfield in managing the tempo, in control. We saw a world-class trio emerge with Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, and João Neves. What is your view on the last few weeks of this midfield? Do you consider it a continuation of what you saw last year? Are they at the same level? Or do you consider that in counter-pressing, in runs, they are a little below? That's my first question. And my second question concerns physical preparation. In February, given the elimination from the cup, you might have a period where you have fewer games, especially if, of course, you are qualified for the top 8. Will you take advantage of this to do more intense physical preparation?

"I think this season has been particular, and not only in the management of midfielders, but also defenders and forwards. I cannot say if our midfield is at the same level as last year. I think we have had to manage minutes and matches with injured players to arrive at the end of the season in the best conditions. This concerns all positions, not just midfield. Certainly, we are in a different scenario because there will be four fewer Cu`p matches, and I hope there will also be two fewer Champions League matches if we are still capable of winning a match in the Champions League (thus avoiding the playoffs). That will make four or maybe six fewer matches to play. So, training will have to be managed differently. But we are used to knowing how to manage periods with many matches. It is easier to manage fewer matches because matches put the players in very good physical condition, but there is the risk of injury. In a match, there are duels, there are injuries, and there are more problems than when you do training sessions. But it indeed changes our way of managing this season a little. But we are used to changing."

We learned this week of the passing of Rolland Courbis, who was a former player, former coach, and former pundit who knew the French championship inside out. Like you, he liked to innovate. You, for example, like to watch certain matches from the stands, as is done in rugby. He was in favor of, for example, an orange card to allow players to leave for 20 minutes, as in rugby, and return to the field. For you, for example, could this rule, the orange card, be transposed to soccer? Should there be more innovation, like what can be done in rugby?

"Yes, I heard this news. It's always difficult. My condolences to his family. For me, I think it's important for the sport to evolve. Whenever there is a possibility to change things to improve and to try to have a more offensive, more beautiful football for the supporters, more beautiful for those who love football, we must continue in that direction. I remember Platini, already three years ago, talking about playing with ten players rather than eleven. These are things that must be analyzed; we must see what the repercussion is in our sport. But I am always open to testing different things and seeing what the conclusion is."

MORE: PSG Targets Young Player in Quiet Winter Transfer Window

Is it good for your team, after the setback in the French Cup, to face Lille, which is a tough opponent that caused you problems in the first leg, to be able to immediately restart a positive dynamic?

"That is the difficulty we have in the championship, and we must accept it. They are certainly a very good team. They play well with the ball and without it. We have had difficulties every time we have faced Lille. Tomorrow, we know it will be difficult. We must be ready, we must win matches because we want to improve our position in the championship."

This weekend, there are still several injured players in the squad, with João Neves and Kang-in Lee notably. This year, you have hardly had the full squad available. Does it make you eager to have recruits this winter, to have a regeneration of the squad, like with Kvaratskhelia last year?

"Another 'Titi'?"

(The journalist clarifies that "titille" means "gives you the urge" and rephrases his question)

Does it give you the urge to have recruits to regenerate the squad? And to have new blood?

"In the transfer window? (The journalist says yes). Of course, we are open, but this is not linked to the defeat in the last match. We are always open. We are open to taking advantage of every possibility. That is our way of managing it, but what I have seen from the team is very positive for me. We are open, we are ready for any possibility, but without any rush."

Yesterday, there were the Africa Cup of Nations semifinals. Your two players, Achraf Hakimi and Ibrahim Mbaye, qualified for the final. They will face each other on Sunday. Have you been able to congratulate them since last night? And you, personally, do you have a little prediction for this final on Sunday?

"No, no, I never send messages, nothing. They are so tired of seeing me when they are here that when they are in Morocco, I leave them alone. I am very happy for both of them. It is deserved. I hope they enjoy this final. It is not easy to play finals, but at the same time, I know that one of the two will come back angry and annoyed. It's not possible for everyone to be happy. I wish them the best. We'll see. They will be back very soon."

What effect did the elimination in the French Cup have on your group this week? And in a sense, can it be an additional source of motivation for the competitions PSG is still involved in?

"The line separating victory and defeat is very, very, very fine. And it's important to know that we deserved to win that match, because no one can say the opposite. We clearly deserved to win that match. With a lot of bad luck, you should draw, and in a very small proportion, you can lose that match. We lost the match. We said nothing. We accepted the result. We wished our opponent good luck for the rest of the competition. But it's important to know that football is a different sport and you have to accept it. But at the same time, I hope it will be a motivation to face Ligue 1 and the Champions League, which are the real competitions, the most important competitions for us. But I have always said, and I continue to say that the French Cup is a wonderful competition, that we like it very much, and that it's a shame for us to be eliminated."

In the last few matches, there is a feeling that the forwards sometimes look for an individual solution near the goal. Is this linked to confidence, context, or something else?

"I think we had 25 shots on goal, and there were different chances. The goalkeeper was incredible; he deserves a lot of credit. And we had chances to shoot inside the box, we had one-on-ones against the goalkeeper, we made crosses, we did everything to win the match. Sometimes there are matches where it's not possible, and you have to continue."

We inevitably talk a lot about playing with the ball in your team. I wanted to talk to you a bit about play without the ball. How do you work on that in training, and how important is it in your strategy?

"I don't remember our last tactical training session. Because, as you can see, we play every three days, and it's impossible to have a normal, tactical training session. And in the coming months, we will work on that in the field. Because we work on videos many times, on the tactical aspect, offensive, and defensive. Defensively, I think everyone knows how we press. I'm sure we can still improve, but our way of pressing is already very effective, and I'm very happy. In the last match, you could see they were only close to our goal once or twice in the second half. And in the first half, only two or three times. That's a lot of good defensive work, and it indicates the mentality of our team."

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