PSG's Luis Enrique Defends Rotation After Le Mans Win

On Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain had a very decisive victory against Le Mans FC (3-1), and although the Parisian team won the match, it was not all smooth sailing.

During the first half, the Parisian team held a considerable advantage over the recently promoted Ligue 1 side, with Lucas Beraldo opening the scoring in the 19th minute.

But it was not until the second half that Le Mans woke up from its numbness, dominated for a few minutes, and also scored a goal in the 54th minute.

Desperation flooded the Parc des Princes crowd, urging the players to wake up. In the end, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Maghnes Akliouche scored in the 60-something minutes, securing the win.

At a post-match press conference, coach Luis Enrique offered a few words about how the match left him feeling.

"The first thing I would like to highlight is the Le Mans team. They played very well; they were very brave. I have to congratulate Patrick Videira. They are a very good team. It was difficult and complicated, but I think we did everything we wanted to do."

When asked whether he felt PSG took risks by starting the match with a mixed eleven, the Spanish coach answered that, after an international break, it is important to manage the players' minutes of play.

"Normally, there are combinations of players who are not used to playing together. That is normal. In soccer, there are always risks," he explained.

When asked whether he believes that, had he started Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, and Warren Zaire-Emery from the beginning, they would have achieved more feats, the coach answered no.

"I am sure that if we had done the opposite, if the four had started the match and the other four had come in, we would have had the same situation. That is how soccer is; it is not easy to play these types of matches."

Finally, Luis Enrique assured that the club's priority at this moment is to keep winning and that every match is important, especially now that important UEFA Champions League matches are approaching.

"We are used to it; we enjoy playing these types of matches a lot, dividing our time between the two competitions and striving to be competitive at all times."

Paris Saint-Germain will next face Manchester City on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League, where we will very likely see the return of Nuno Mendes and Ousmane Dembele, who have already returned from their rest.