Luis Enrique dismisses talk of PSG being the favorite against Aston Villa
FILE - PSG's Marco Asensio celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the French League 1 soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Montpellier at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
Aston Villa's Marco Asensio scores his side's second goal of the game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Aston Villa, at the American Express Stadium, in Brighton, England, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Aston Villa's manager Unai Emery, left, and Matty Cash, right, attend a training session in Birmingham, England, Tuesday April 8, 2025, ahead of the Champions League quarter final first leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
PSG's Marquinhos climbs above Liverpool's Diogo Jota to win a header during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
PSG's Marquinhos, right, and PSG Desire Doue celebrate winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Franck Fife, Pool Photo via AP)
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique, celebrates winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Franck Fife, Pool Photo via AP)
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique, celebrates winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Franck Fife, Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - PSG's Marco Asensio celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the French League 1 soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Montpellier at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
Aston Villa's Marco Asensio scores his side's second goal of the game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Aston Villa, at the American Express Stadium, in Brighton, England, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Aston Villa's manager Unai Emery, left, and Matty Cash, right, attend a training session in Birmingham, England, Tuesday April 8, 2025, ahead of the Champions League quarter final first leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
PSG's Marquinhos climbs above Liverpool's Diogo Jota to win a header during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
PSG's Marquinhos, right, and PSG Desire Doue celebrate winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Franck Fife, Pool Photo via AP)
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique, celebrates winning the French League One championship title after the soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Angers at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Franck Fife, Pool Photo via AP)
PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique shrugged off talk of his side being the favorite against Aston Villa ahead of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday.
While PSG has been a regular in the last eight since cash-rich Qatari investor QSI bought the club 14 years ago, and reached the semifinals last season, Villa has not been in this stage of the competition since 1983.
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'People said we had no chance against Liverpool (in the round of 16), so in my mind there is no such thing as favorites," Luis Enrique said at a news conference on Tuesday. "It's a very open and difficult match for both sides. I know it will be intense.'
PSG wrapped up a record-extending 13th Ligue 1 title on Saturday with six games to spare. Villa is pushing for a top-four finish in the Premier League and is on a seven-game winning run heading to Paris for the first leg.
Luis Enrique, who guided Barcelona to the treble in 2015, is bracing himself for a tactical headache against a Villa side coached by Spanish countryman Unai Emery.
'Their strongpoint is their versatility, so it's hard to figure out how they're going to play. They can play with a low block (and) they bring the ball out brilliantly," he said. "Their biggest strength is how they attack from the back and reach the second line of attack quickly. It then becomes very hard to contain when teams are breaking from midfield.'
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Emery is a respected opponent from the days when both men were coaching in Spain. Emery won the Europa League a record four times — three with Sevilla and one with Villarreal — and guided unheralded Villarreal to the Champions League semifinals in 2022.
'He deserves more recognition because he's a great coach with limitless energy," Luis Enrique said. "He probably already knows everything I am planning to do.'
Villa could line up with attacking midfielder Marco Asensio, who is on loan from PSG. So Luis Enrique was asked if he has a problem with the fact Asensio is free to face PSG.
'On the contrary, I am delighted that Marco can play," he said. "I know him perfectly well, he's a player of the highest level, with great technical ability.'
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Although PSG is unbeaten in domestic soccer this season, the last three matches have all seen sloppy first-half performances. Luis Enrique looked stunned when his side fell 2-0 down inside the first 30 minutes against second-tier Dunkerque last week in a French Cup semifinal, and he warned his players about lapses in concentration.
'The Champions League does not allow you to switch off for one second," he said. "You can't reach the quarterfinal without being completely focused.'
PSG will be without captain Marquinhos due to suspension for the first leg, and the defense remains vulnerable to set-pieces and corners.
But Emery, who coached PSG from 2016-18, probably already knew that. ___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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