Before the Champions League playoff first leg between Monaco and PSG, it was a wary Luis Enrique far from underestimating the Monegasque team, who appeared in a press conference on Monday. And the coach was, above all, happy to finally arrive at the decisive part of the season.

This PSG is very strong on the wings with Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, as is Monaco, with the Brazilians Vanderson and Caio Henrique. What do you expect from these duels? It's perhaps the area that could decide the match?

"I think we cannot speak particularly about only two players for each team. They are very good teams and have many quality players on both teams. What we can expect is a match similar to what we played two months ago. And for us, we change nothing because we will try to win this next match."

We left you with the defeat at Rennes on Friday. Without revisiting everything that was said in the aftermath of that match, could Ousmane (Dembele)'s words add more motivation, more determination in this final stretch of the season and before the important match tomorrow?

"Around PSG, there is always a lot of noise. You have to accept it. That's it."

But precisely, what is the state of mind of your players since this defeat? How did you sense the locker room remobilized?

"This defeat is cruel because if we think about what we created, and I'm speaking exactly about the chances we created during the last two matches against Marseille and against Rennes, it was very similar. We created many chances to score many goals. In the Marseille match, the Classique, we scored five; in the Rennes match, we scored only one. We lost the match because they were very efficient. And that's all. That's the professional analysis that a coach makes of this team, nothing more.

It's better to arrive after a victory, that's clear, but we are used to overcoming situations. And I think it's a particular moment because we begin the real Champions League, when you have to play against the same opponents at home and away, and we are motivated."

It's never easy to play a team from your same league, the same nationality, when you're in a European competition. It's not usual. You did it perfectly last season against Brest. Precisely, do you expect your players tomorrow who play against Monaco, not as if they were playing in Ligue 1, but as a real Champions League match? Is there a difference in intensity and in the ability to approach the match?

"In what are the important things during a match, you have to be attentive and play the same way. It's different because the importance of the competition is so different. But it's football, it's the same thing, it's trying to do things, trying to do the job well to win matches. That's our objective for tomorrow. And we don't change the mentality of seeking to win matches, either at home or away, as is the case tomorrow."

We are a few days after the defeat at Rennes, after Ousmane's comments. You said after the match that it had no interest since it was a heated post-match speech. Have you been able to speak with him again in a cooler moment? Did he have the same discourse with you in a cooler moment a few days later? And consequently, is it still without interest, please?

"What I said, I think it's very clear. And around PSG, there is always noise. We are used to it."

You said before Newcastle that Paris Saint-Germain would show its true face during these knockout matches. What makes you believe today that Paris is ready to show its true face tomorrow?

"The same path we followed at the beginning of the league. That's what I hope to see: the best version of PSG. And we saw last season that we lost first-leg matches, and we turned it around; we won the match. We seek to win every match and that doesn't change our mentality; that's what we want."

Following up on my colleagues' question about what you expect tomorrow regarding this match, regarding Monaco, you speak of a lack of efficiency. What do you expect from your players tomorrow? Do you expect more efficiency, more control in the game?

"If I have to judge the players and the team by what I know, of course. We expect to improve our efficiency because individual quality is important and we have many players with that quality. But during the season, there are different moments in terms of confidence, in what you can do during matches. But the confidence in the players, in the team, is there and we know this quality. You have to know the difficulty of this match because we knew it was very difficult to win away, regardless of the competition. But the confidence, and what we did in the past, is clear."

We sense you are very attached to your playing philosophy, whether last year or this year. When you have an efficiency problem, you don't let go. Same strategy, we attack, we attack, we create many chances. We continue to believe that it will eventually unlock.

"Of course. And I think last year, it was very clear. We started the Champions League league phase with the same lack of efficiency we had this season during a few matches. But normally, the number of chances we have is clear. And when you are capable of creating many chances, that represents that you were superior to the opponent and that's what we seek. I am very sure we can find that again very quickly and that's our objective."

The last three times you came to Monaco, there were a few little events, something always happened with the goalkeepers, Kylian Mbappe, etc. Do you hope for a much calmer evening tomorrow?

"I don't know (laughs). We'll see. We'll see tomorrow. Maybe we can play without a goalkeeper. No goalkeeper wants to play (laughs)."

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