PSG dismantled Chelsea brilliantly, and yet a subdued locker room focused on the future Champions League.
If PSG had fun on Chelsea's pitch Tuesday in the Champions League (3-0), it owes much to Luis Enrique's tactical preparation.
PSG humiliated Chelsea in this Champions League round of 16 matchup. After its big win at the Parc des Princes in the first leg (5-2), the capital club steamrolled the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday (3-0, 8-2 on aggregate). A genuine thrashing lauded by the English press.
In the 24 hours leading up to the match, the atmosphere within the squad was relaxed, according to RMC Sport. Some families were even able to spend time with the players at the hotel.
"A cheerful scene, mirroring the Parisian group's team spirit in recent weeks." This moment of relaxation did not prevent Luis Enrique's players from maintaining their seriousness ahead of the return match. During the match-free weekend, the Spanish coach took the opportunity to organize two very intense tactical sessions at the Campus PSG.
"The pace was impressive. It had been a while since a tactical session had been so in-depth," a witness to the training said. This weekend, therefore, allowed the European champions to rest and fine-tune their London success.
After the victory at Stamford Bridge, joy was rather subdued in the Parisian locker room, with a desire to get back to work quickly. "A few cheers but no real party for the Parisian squad. PSG knows it has little time to enjoy it as a light training session is scheduled for late afternoon at the training center," the sports media outlet detailed.
The London evening ended with a late-night card game. In private, the PSG squad still dreams of achieving a back-to-back in the Champions League. Now, PSG will follow the Liverpool-Galatasaray match to find out its opponent in the Champions League quarterfinals.
"We have no preference. We've seen that football is very dynamic. Sometimes we don't look at the opponent. We are also really focused on what we can do. We need to work on what we can improve. The team that's going to face us, I think it won't be happy to face PSG. We will prepare in the best way," Marquinhos said after the match. The answer will come on Wednesday evening.
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