In reality, Luis Enrique has doomed himself to failure.
Ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Barcelona, the Paris Saint-Germain coach was asked whether he or Xavi better fulfilled Barcelona’s identity. Luis Enrique was head coach there for three years between 2014 and 2017.
“I do, without a doubt,” he said. “Look at the data, in possession, in scoring opportunities, in high pressing. Look at the titles, the trophies. It’s not an opinion, it’s data. Without a doubt, me!
Luis Enrique’s nine pieces of silverware with Barcelona – two La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey trophies, one Spanish Super Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Club World Cup and one Champions League – eclipse Xavi’s La Liga and Spanish Super Cup last season. . Luis Enrique could be Barcelona personified, as his answer to the question referring to style before silverware shows.
His passion, bordering on obsession, to win in attack in 4-3-3, often with a false nine, has become Luis Enrique’s fatal flaw. Barcelona’s 3-2 victory in Paris on Wednesday night ended PSG’s 27-match unbeaten run, which dated back to a group stage away loss to AC Milan in early November. It was the first time PSG had conceded three times in a European home match since against Manchester United in 2019.
PSG looked more like Barcelona than Barcelona. Even with a makeshift four-man defense due to injuries (Nordi Mukiele, Presnel Kimpembe) and suspensions (Achraf Hakimi), PSG pressed high, often man-to-man. In possession, they built from the back. Luis Enrique gave Marco Asensio his first European start of the season, deploying him as a false nine, with Kylian Mbappe and former Barcelona striker Ousmane Dembele on the wings.
In comparison, Barcelona defended in a 4-4-2 mid-block, occasionally pushing to press but happy to stay in shape. This is evident from the start, with PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in control of the ball.
They were content to break through deep and, in attack, rolled left winger Raphinha inside to become Xavi’s trademark midfielder. Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen gave a long kick. With PSG leaving a three-on-three midway, emerging from something close to a 3-5-2, Barcelona targeted number 9 Robert Lewandowski over Lucas Beraldo.
Here, in five minutes, Barça places itself behind PSG. Lewandowski starts in Beraldo’s blind spot and then moves into play, cleverly using his body to block the defender when he realizes the ball is going over his head. Raphinha, who spent much of the match in narrow No.10 positions in Barcelona’s midfield, ran behind Lucas Hernandez.
On this occasion, PSG had to thank goalkeeper Donnarumma for his vigilance, running to sweep and tackle the winger.
This continued throughout the half, with Beraldo fouling Lewandowski on one occasion, such was his difficulty defending this situation.
In comparison, PSG was much more complex. Here is a summary of their attacks in the first half: Asensio moves away from central defender Ronald Araujo, to receive from Beraldo, and links the play to Mbappe, in a one-on-one against Jules Kounde.
Mbappe gets on the pitch but Koundé matches him step by step.
When the French international cuts inside, Koundé and Araujo are close together to block his path(s) to goal, so Mbappe has to switch to Dembele.
Dembele’s cross is blocked for a corner, but PSG always lacked real presence in the area. Whenever they found themselves in a promising central position on the right, Mbappe would often drop to the edge of the box rather than running between the posts or towards the back post.
Xavi was full of praise for Barcelona’s defensive quality: “Tactically we did really well. The wingers helped us a lot. Pau Cubarsi jumped so well, first towards Lee Kang-in, then sometimes towards Asensio. They changed a lot of players (at half-time). We defend very well (against) Mbappé, with Koundé and Araujo”.
“It’s a new Barça, but we are on a good path,” added Xavi. He talked about personnel, the integration of teenagers Lamine Yamal and Cubarsi, the last part of a foursome with only one player over 25 (João Cancelo). The “new Barça” could just as easily have focused on its style, as the article illustrates Athleticism match the dashboard below.
This was Barcelona’s lowest possession in a league or European match under last third of a match. Barcelona went more direct than usual under Xavi and pressed less intensely. They fared better, although this failure to live up to their trademark style supported the animosity towards Xavi that led to his decision to leave at the end of the season.
Their three goals demonstrated Barcelona’s approach: direct and punitive on PSG’s errors. The first was a precise direct ball from Cubarsi into the feet of Lewandowski. He spun with Beraldo, released Yamal and smashed into the box for the first cross off the outside of the boot. When Donnarumma arrived but failed to clear, Raphinha slotted in the loose ball.
The PSG goalkeeper played a role in the 2-2 goal, missing a diagonal. Cancelo collected it and in two passes Barcelona had worked him inside to replace Pedri. His shot behind matched Raphinha’s run for a wonderful volley equalizer. The winner was a header from Andreas Christensen from an inbound corner from Ilkay Gundogan.
This is a team that won half of its 28 La Liga games by a single goal last season, 11 of them by a score of 1-0. Their direct approach to the ball and game plan to deny Mbappé space was reminiscent of PSG’s opponents in their only other home defeat this season – 3-2 against Nice in September.
Mbappe went without a shot on target in a European home match for the first time since September 2021, against Manchester City.
Luis Enrique’s half-time adjustments improved PSG collectively but did not raise Mbappe’s level. At the back, he moved Marquinhos from right back to center back, to better defend Barcelona’s direct play. Hernández moved from left to right and Beraldo took his place.
He replaced Asensio with winger Bradley Barcola, returning to the split-forward system that worked so well in the last-16 second leg against Real Sociedad – Mbappe and Barcola on the sidelines, with Dembele playing a No.10 role .
PSG’s turnaround at the start of the second half was due to an increase in the number of runners beyond the ball, particularly from the midfielders, who were disconnected from the front line in the first half. Mbappe overlapped Dembele to find a cutback position in the build-up to the opener, before Dembele shot.
For the second, just two minutes and 14 seconds after the equalizer, the PSG system shines. Barcola dribbles inside and Lee rides him.
Lee’s positioning keeps Cancelo away from Cubarsi and opens a pocket for Vitinha to make a run forward. Fabian Ruiz finds him and the midfielder passes Ter Stegen.
For a club with PSG’s tumultuous recent European history, making a comeback in the second half after being down 1-0 and then losing the match isn’t as shocking as it might be for others. Tactically, they were much better after the half-time changes, but that raises questions about Luis Enrique’s continued efforts to Barcelona-ify PSG. The 4-3-1-2 system of split strikers, although only intended for use in Europe, is better than his preferred 4-3-3.
Luis Enrique may have a better record at Barcelona than Xavi, but increasingly needs to prove himself as a knockout manager. PSG’s victory in the Trophée des Champions (French Super Cup) in January, at home against Toulouse, was the coach’s first trophy since 2017.
If Barcelona’s strength in the Champions League this season has tried to be less like the Barcelona of the past, then Luis Enrique could also benefit from some of that tactical open-mindedness.
Given that PSG failed to win any of their three away games in the group stage and were eliminated the last four times they lost the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie, he would surely benefit from not trying to win like Barcelona in Barcelona. .