Luis Enrique: "Monaco are direct competitors of ours"
The Paris Saint-Germain manager answered questions from PSG TV and the media ahead of his side’s game against AS Monaco, which kicks off at 21:00 CET tomorrow night at the Stade Louis II on Matchday 24 of Ligue 1.
ON THE ABSENTEES
"I'd like to have every player at my disposal, but that's football; you have to rise to the challenge despite injuries and suspensions. My aim as a manager is to get every player ready to play, regardless of who's available."
ON THE LEFT-BACK POSITION
"Lucas Hernandez and Lucas Beraldo can play there. These two players give us security either as centre-backs or as full-backs, and for me, as the manager, that's really positive. Lucas Hernandez finds it easier to get forward, while Lucas Beraldo is a very calm player. They're both good options for the team and for me."
ON THE RETURN OF Nuno Mendes
"Nuno is very effective in his position. Our aim is to play our best players and to generate chemistry within the team, and his return gives us more choices and more possibilities, which is very interesting for us."
ON AS Monaco
"Monaco are one of the best teams in the league and a direct competitor of ours in the title race. We know that we've got a tough game ahead of us tomorrow, so we'll put out a highly competitive side."
ON THE TEAM'S PROGRESS
"I think that we're in a position whereby we can see all of the efforts that we've made in recent months, and I'm really happy with the results so far. I think that the team is going in the right direction, but now, we're about to head into a difficult period. It's the best period of the season, but it will naturally be tricky.
"It's a feeling that we enjoy. Every player wants to win titles, and now, we just need to keep working hard over the next few months. I'm always trying to improve the team because we always have room for improvement. We just need to stay true to our ideas whilst improving on a few minor details."