PSG manager Luis Enrique wants his side to avoid being overconfident as they head into the second leg of their quarter final tie with Aston Villa.
PSG have been tagged as favourites to win the Champions League this season on the back of their impressive form.
The Parisians have won their domestic title with six games to spare while remaining unbeaten. They also knocked out table toppers Liverpool in the round of 16, and turned on an impressive display at home to gain a commanding 3-1 lead over Aston Villa heading into the second leg of the quarter finals.
Luis Enrique and his side are now hoping to deliver the knockout blow to Villa in Birmingham on Tuesday night.
However, speaking to the press ahead of the game, Enrique warned that his side had to remain 100 per cent focused if they are to go all the way in Europe.
“The road to the Champions League is paved with favourites who have been eliminated along the way,” said Enrique. “Of course, we were better in the first leg and deserved the win, but that story is behind us.
“Now a second story begins. We’ll see who’s better, who’s going to win.
“We have that advantage but it doesn’t fit in with our philosophy of thinking with certainty. We still have this idea of not calculating. If Aston Villa score or win, we have to show in this match that we have the level required to reach the semi-finals.”
Luis Enrique’s side deserve the praise they’ve been given – so good have they been this season – but it’s important to remember that they didn’t actually start the season firing on all fronts. They lost 2-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates in October in a game that led many pundits into ruling them out as serious contenders.
It was concluded that they were still a team in transition, having abandoned their previous strategy of recruiting high-profile players and instead choosing to build around a group of young players who would play as a collective. But the team matured as the season went on.
Speaking about improvements in his team’s performance this season, Enrique said: “As time goes by, the scenarios around us change. We’ve gone from the maximum pessimism we saw at the start of the season to the excessive motivation and joy we’re seeing at the moment.
“The key in these cases is the maturity we’re seeing despite the youth of my team, the ability to forget everything that’s going on and stay focused on the game.
“Because nothing’s done, it’s not over yet. It’s going to be difficult and we expect to suffer. If we’re prepared to suffer, that means we’re ready to achieve our objective, which is victory.”
The Spaniard acknowledges that Aston Villa will pose challenges for them, but insists that they are ready for it.
“We want to try to solve the problems that Aston Villa are going to present us with,” he said. “Our objective is to win.
“For us, it’s always about being competitive in a stadium like Villa Park. We like to play at home and away. It’s not a problem but a motivation.”
