PSG ‘feel like champions’ as Ligue 1 title nears, says Luis Enrique

PSG ‘feel like champions’ as Ligue 1 title nears, says Luis Enrique
Coach Luis Enrique says Paris Saint-Germain "can feel like champions" knowing they could seal the Ligue 1 title this weekend but warned his players not to let their level drop
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Updated 28 March 2025

PSG ‘feel like champions’ as Ligue 1 title nears, says Luis Enrique

PSG ‘feel like champions’ as Ligue 1 title nears, says Luis Enrique
  • “We’re never champions until it’s mathematically certain, but we can feel like champions,” Luis Enrique told reporters
  • “We’re going to use these last eight matches for other goals, to be competitive against all opponents”

POISSY, France: Coach Luis Enrique said Paris Saint-Germain “can feel like champions” knowing they could seal the Ligue 1 title this weekend but warned his players not to let their level drop.
The unbeaten league leaders go to second-bottom Saint-Etienne, where a win would secure an 11th French title in 13 seasons if Marseille lose away to Reims and Monaco draw with Nice on Saturday.
“We’re never champions until it’s mathematically certain, but we can feel like champions, we’re the best team in Ligue 1,” Luis Enrique told reporters on Friday.
“We’re going to use these last eight matches for other goals, to be competitive against all opponents... to be ready for the three months that remain.
“There’s the French Cup and the Champions League, where we want to be right to the end.”
PSG face second-tier Dunkerque in the semifinals of the French Cup in Lille next week before taking on Aston Villa in the last eight of the Champions League.
Luis Enrique doesn’t believe the possibility of wrapping up a record-extending 13th Ligue 1 title on Saturday should have any effect on his team’s mindset.
“It seems totally unimportant to me, there are eight games left in the league, we want to be competitive because that will prepare us in the best way for the other competitions,” said the Spaniard.
“I feel almost the same as I did this time last year, we were almost champions, in the semifinals of the cup and quarter-finals of the Champions League, with young players who have a year’s more experience.”
PSG will be without Lee Kang-in against Saint-Etienne after the South Korean picked up an ankle injury on international duty. Achraf Hakimi is also being rested after playing for Morocco in World Cup qualifying.


Jude Bellingham facing fight to get back in England team

Jude Bellingham facing fight to get back in England team
Updated 25 sec ago

Jude Bellingham facing fight to get back in England team

Jude Bellingham facing fight to get back in England team
  • Bellingham is back in the squad after fully recovering from shoulder surgery
  • Tuchel sees him as a No. 10, placing him direct competition with Rogers

LONDON: Jude Bellingham might have to wait to get back in the England team, with coach Thomas Tuchel saying Wednesday he is in no rush to change his system to accommodate the return of the Real Madrid star.
Since Bellingham last played for England — in a 3-1 loss to Senegal in a friendly in June — Morgan Rogers has been installed in the No. 10 role and starred in recent 5-0 wins over Serbia and Latvia that helped to clinch a spot in next year’s World Cup.
Bellingham is back in the squad after fully recovering from shoulder surgery and Tuchel sees him as a No. 10, placing him direct competition with Rogers.
“They are friends so this can also be a friendly competition,” Tuchel said at a news conference ahead of England’s home game against Serbia in World Cup qualifying on Thursday. “You don’t have to be enemies, you don’t have to hate each other. They are respectful, they are friends with each other, and they fight at the moment for the same position.
“Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure and maybe it’s not the moment to change our structure.”
Working against Bellingham is the fact that he and Phil Foden, another attacking midfielder who has regained a place in the squad, haven’t taken part in a full training session so far this week, Tuchel said. That will happen later Wednesday.
England became the first European nation to qualify for the World Cup last month, so the pressure is off Tuchel and the team heading into upcoming games against Serbia and Albania that wrap up group play.
The German coach said he isn’t thinking ahead to next year’s tournament just yet.
“So much can happen,” he said. “Nobody wants injuries to happen but injuries can happen, players can pull out, drop in form, other players can come in form, so I’m very much open for the next months.
“That’s why I don’t feel the pressure, I don’t feel the World Cup urge at the moment.”