Enrique: Important win... "despite the circumstances"

Salzburg – AFP – Paris Saint-Germain’s French coach Luis Enrique stressed that “starting the season in this manner is important,” following his team’s 2-1 victory over English side Aston City in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, despite “difficult circumstances.”

Although he expressed happiness at his team’s win, the Spanish manager did not miss the opportunity to point out that his players are “far from the physical readiness required to compete throughout the season.”

Following their recent return from a break after the 2026 World Cup, several players started against last season’s Europa League champions, including Desire Doue.

Doue proved decisive by scoring the winning goal in the 61st minute, assisted by Ousmane Dembele, who came on at the start of the second half.

After the match, Doue said, “We were keen to have a very strong start to the season. Now we must continue working, as we still have another title to aim for on Sunday (the Super Cup against Lens), and we have many ambitions this season as well.”

Among those ambitions is winning the UEFA Champions League for the third consecutive time, a goal Enrique revisited after securing the season’s first trophy.

He said, “We cannot feel happy after a loss, but our competitive performance, the players’ response on the pitch throughout the 90 minutes, and our chances to score are all things that make us extremely proud of what we delivered today.”