Luis Enrique: "A Champions League level match"
The Paris Saint-Germain coach answered questions from PSG TV and the media ahead of Ligue 1 Matchday 3 against LOSC Lille on Sunday 1 September at 8.45pm at the Decathlon Arena-Stade Pierre Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq.
LILLE
"We know Lille well, they were one of the teams that played the best football last season, and they're going to play in the Champions League. So we're expecting a Champions League level game, and it's always interesting to play games like that, especially away from home. It's definitely one of the best fixtures in the league, not just in terms of the teams but also their line-ups. Lille are doing a lot of things very well, continuing what they did last season. I like what they offer. We'll be playing at their place too, which is one of the toughest away games we'll play."
transfer window
"We've had a very good window. We improved with one player per line. We knew it would be a difficult window, like for all teams. We already have a very good team because we strengthened last year and now we want to move forward with this project. My influence on the window? Ever since I joined Paris Saint-Germain, even with the market already open, I've had an influence. No player I don't like has signed for the club. Since my arrival, I've been lucky enough to have a good understanding with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and Luis Campos. I hope we're going to experience a lot together. I'm part of a perfect project and I've adapted well to it."
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
"My impression of the draw is that it's a new competition, a new format. We were statistically the least favoured by the draw, but I can't judge this competition because I don't know how many points we'll need to be in the top eight. We'll see how attractive the change is. I can't judge it yet, it's all new."
start of the season
"I think it's been a very interesting start to the season, I didn't expect to start at this level. The potential is there and the players are keen to improve their performance. As a team, having an idea of what we want to do offensively and defensively doesn't frustrate the players in their individual performances, quite the opposite. I think this season we'll have a lot of players who will go beyond their usual statistics and that will benefit the team."