PSG’s Luis Enrique Strategizes Surprise Against Barcelona in UCL Clash

Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique might not have FC Barcelona on his mind just yet, but the way he’s plotting for the first leg in their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie, the Spanish boss isn’t showing his cards to anyone scouting them.

After the 2-0 win over Olympique de Marseille this past weekend, Enrique tinkered with the tactical plan. The 53-year-old had Ousmane Dembélé in midfield in a more central role.

One reporter asked whether this was the plan for the Frenchman going forward. However, Enrique didn’t go into detail and stated he wants the element of surprise on his side.

“I could explain it to you but it’s not necessary in my eyes,” Enrique told reporters on Sunday. “There is always this desire to surprise the opponent and one of the solutions for this is to change his position. Moreover, Ousmane had a great opportunity in the first period.

“There are always things to improve, but I liked what I saw in terms of space occupancy and changes. If we don’t know where Dembélé, Mbappé, Lee or Ramos are going to play, it’s always to surprise the opponent, you’ll see it more and more. We have to be unpredictable for the opponent.”

Barcelona doesn’t play until the first leg on April 10, so perhaps Enrique knows that Xavi Hernandez and his team are scouting his games. As a result, he probably wants to confuse the coaching staff and not pinpoint anything he could use against them.

It will be interesting to see if this helps Enrique have an advantage over the Catalan side.