(Reuters) – Paris St Germain manager Luis Enrique admitted he did not enjoy watching their tense late win over Girona in the Champions League on Wednesday.
PSG secured victory after Girona’s goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who had thwarted numerous efforts from the French champions, made a calamitous error in the final minutes of the match to give the hosts a 1-0 win.
“I think we were superior, but Girona played us in circles and made us dizzy. At halftime, we said that if we didn’t press, we were going to suffer. We had to win, and it was very difficult,” Luis Enrique told Movistar Plus.
“It was very difficult. I told (Girona manager) Michel that this was worse than giving birth, with all due respect.”
Under the new Champions League format, teams play eight matches against eight different opponents, with the top eight sides in the 36-team league automatically advancing to the last 16, and the next 16 playing a further knockout round.
Luis Enrique observed that the format creates uncertainty about the significance of results.
“Winning a match or any title is difficult, but we don’t know the dimension of this competition with this format,” he said.
“We are going to have to play matches against teams that have easier schedules than ours. How many points are we going to need? There are many unknowns that need to be cleared up.”
Despite the victory, PSG suffered a setback as striker Marco Asensio limped off just before halftime. Luis Enrique was confident, however, in the strength of his squad.
“He felt a twinge. Marco had started the season well. This is professional football, and we have a very good squad.”
PSG will next play Reims away in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)
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