Enrique speaks of 'positives'... Abdulhamid proud of the achievement

Spanish coach Luis Enrique, manager of Paris Saint-Germain, spoke after his team lost the French Super Cup to Lens 1-0, seeking to highlight the positives his side took from the defeat.

Lens, playing with ten men and featuring their international defender Saudi Arabia’s Saud Abdulhamid, secured their first-ever French Super Cup title, defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in front of their home crowd at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens on Sunday.

Lens owed their victory to their new captain Florian Thauvin (32), but they were forced to hold on for nearly an hour after their young 18-year-old defender, Kiliann Sidibé (39), was sent off.

Paris Saint-Germain, who were crowned European Super Cup champions on Wednesday after beating English side Aston Villa and have won the competition in 12 of the last 13 editions, also finished the match with ten men after Portuguese defender Nuno Mendes was sent off in the 87th minute.

Under their new German coach Dino Toppmöller, Lens added this trophy to the French Cup they won last May with a 3-1 victory over Nice, under former coach Pierre Sage.

In comments to beIN Sports, Enrique expressed satisfaction with the technical and physical level displayed by his players during the match, noting that the performance was much better than he had expected at this early stage of preparations for the new season.

Enrique avoided discussing the potential departure of the duo Bradley Barcola and Ibrahima Konaté, amid interest from English club Liverpool in signing them.

On the other hand, Saudi player Saud Abdulhamid sent a message to fans and everyone who supported him in France and in the Kingdom after his club Lens won the Super Cup.

The Saudi full-back added: “Another title with this team and these wonderful fans. I am proud of my teammates and everyone who works for this club, and grateful to everyone who supported and stood by me here in France, from the homeland, and from everywhere. Your support means a lot to me.”

This is Saud’s second title with Lens, following the French Cup win last season.