Luis Enrique after the draw: 'At halftime, I could have made five substitutions'

Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) 1-1 draw with Nice on Sunday further complicated their pursuit of Ligue 1 dominance, allowing Monaco to claim the top spot with 19 points after seven rounds.

PSG, despite their wealth of talent, were held back by a lackluster first-half performance, a problem that coach Luis Enrique did not shy away from addressing. The match featured key performances from several Portuguese players, including Nuno Mendes and João Neves, who started, and Vitinha, who came off the bench. Nuno Mendes contributed with PSG’s equalizing goal in the 52nd minute, following Ali Abdi’s opener for Nice in the 38th minute.

At the end of the match, Luis Enrique expressed his frustration with the team's first-half showing. The coach, known for his high standards, admitted that PSG had been far from their usual selves. He pointed out that the team’s precision and execution especially in basic aspects of the game were well below what he expects from his players. “There was a level of inaccuracy that is not typical for most of the players, even in the simple things we usually do. We made a lot of mistakes here,” he noted.

The Spanish coach didn’t hesitate to reveal that, in his view, the first-half performance was so poor that he considered making a significant number of changes during the break. “At halftime, I could have made five substitutions, no problem. Five players could have easily come off, but I only made one, and that was it,” he stated. His sole halftime change involved swapping out Randal Kolo Muani for Lee Kang-In, a move that did improve PSG’s play in the second half, though it wasn’t enough to secure all three points.

This candid admission of frustration by Luis Enrique was echoed by his players in post-match interviews. Bradley Barcola, reflecting on the team’s uneven performance, acknowledged that PSG only came alive in the second half. “We woke up in the second half. It’s a shame we didn’t take our chances. Games like this happen. It’s always tough to play here. We should have played the first half the way we did the second,” said the French winger, hinting at a lack of intensity in the opening 45 minutes.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who has been a key figure for PSG this season, shared a similar assessment. He criticized the team’s first-half effort and stressed the importance of consistency. “The first half wasn’t good, we have to do better. We need to improve this because it’s very important. We were better in the second half. We conceded another goal, and I’m really upset about that; we have to be more aggressive,” Donnarumma stated. His comments reflected PSG’s ongoing challenge of maintaining their usual defensive solidity, which has occasionally wavered in crucial moments this season.

Despite the criticism from both coach and players, Luis Enrique did offer a broader perspective on PSG’s start to the season, comparing it to the previous campaign. When asked to assess their progress, he noted that the team has shown improvement compared to last season. “I’m not one to give grades before the end of the season, but I think our start to the season has been very promising. I like what I see, and I think this start has been better than last season,” he said. However, he emphasized that the ultimate goal remains winning the league and being competitive in all competitions.

PSG’s current position second in the Ligue 1 standings with 17 points, just two behind leaders Monaco leaves them well within reach of reclaiming the top spot. However, the narrow gap also puts pressure on the Parisians to eliminate the inconsistencies that have plagued their performances in recent weeks. With three points separating them from Marseille and Reims, who are tied on 14 points in third and fourth place respectively, the battle for dominance in Ligue 1 is far from over.

The international break offers Luis Enrique and his squad a much-needed opportunity to regroup and address the areas where they’ve fallen short. As PSG strives to assert themselves both domestically and in European competition, the next few matches will be critical in determining whether they can build on their promising start and maintain the consistency needed to secure the Ligue 1 title. With high expectations from fans and management alike, the pressure is on for PSG to find their best form and sustain it throughout the season.