PSG head coach Luis Enrique called on his Champions League-winning players to dismiss their back-to-back glories in the competition and re-motivate themselves for more success in European club football's most coveted competition.
Issued on: 09/09/2026 - 14:02
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"I always try to transmit the same thing to my players: the past is the past," said Enrique ahead of Wednesday night's clash against Slovan Bratislava at the Parc des Princes. "You have to renew yourselves every year. Everyone is motivated and excited at the idea of playing us. It's something we have to accept and that's why we have to look to get out of our comfort zone. We have to seek to reinvent ourselves every day." PSG go into the first game in the league phase of the 2026/2027 tournament on the back of the worst start to a Ligue 1 season in Enrique's four years at the club. Poor start They have only two points out of a possible nine from their first three games. However, the team was buoyed on Tuesday night with the announcement that 10 players in the squad including the 2025 winner Ousmane Dembélé have been nominated for the prestigious 2026 Ballon d'Or award as the best outfield player. Matvey Safanov was listed for the goalkeeping prize while Warren Zaïre-Emery was among 10 players nominated for the award for the best player under 21. Enrique, who joined PSG in July 2023, was listed for the coach of the year prize and the 2025/2026 PSG squad was nominated in the team of the year section for claiming Ligue 1 in 2026 and retaining the Champions League after beating Arsenal in Budapest in May. 'Looking forward to competition' "We always look forward to this competition," Enrique added. "It's a competition of which we have a lot of good memories, but we'll have to be careful because there are no easy games." On Tuesday night, PSG's Ligue 1 rivals Lille twice squandered the lead to lose 3-2 at home to Real Betis. “We had a good first half," said Lille boss Davide Ancelotti. "We played well, but we didn’t manage certain moments of the match properly. We weren’t focused enough when the opposition were at their best. "In the Champions League, you pay dearly for that but looking on the bright side, I can see that the team played very well in the first half.” On Thursday night, Lens, the third French club in this season's competition play at Slavia Prague. The top eight in the 36-team league qualify automatically for the last-16 knockout stages while the teams finishing between ninth and 24th take part in a two-leg play-off for the remaining eight last-16 berths. PSG negotiated the play-offs in 2025 and 2026 before their surges to the title.
