By Reuters
Runaway Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain have been better in attack and defence since striker Kylian Mbappe moved to Real Madrid last year, coach Luis Enrique said before they host third-placed AS Monaco on Friday.
Mbappe left to join the Spanish giants in June after seven years in Paris, having scored more than 170 goals in Ligue 1 from more than 200 appearances for the club.
“I was very brave last season when I told you that we would have a better team in attack and defence,” Luis Enrique told a press conference on Thursday.
“I still think that we are better (in both), the numbers are there to say it. The players took it as a challenge. Of course we would have liked to keep Kylian, because everyone loved him, but the team is responding … at a spectacular level.
“I told you that rather than having a player who scores 40 goals, I wanted players who all score a lot. Faced with a situation that we did not want but which happened, the maturity of the team is very good.”
Reigning champions PSG are the only unbeaten team in Europe’s top five leagues after 20 games, sitting 10 points clear of Olympique de Marseille and 13 above Monaco.
They beat Monaco 4-2 in the reverse fixture in December before a last-gasp Ousmane Dembele goal helped them to a 1-0 win in the French Super Cup in January.
Luis Enrique said he wanted the 27-year-old Dembele, who also scored twice at Monaco, to become the team’s leader.
“Right now, he is in an absolutely spectacular series. His statistics have exploded compared to the beginning of his career, that’s obvious,” Luis Enrique said.
“He has to be important for the team, not just scoring goals. To score a goal, someone has to give you an assist. What we are looking for with Ousmane is … for him to continue to be a determining player, with assists and defensive efforts.
“Becoming a leader of the team is not just about scoring goals. Being a leader is something different. I believe that Ousmane, very clearly, can become one of the leaders of the team.”
Luis Enrique added that he expected a complicated clash against eight-times champions Monaco.
“Monaco have made a lot of progress without the ball. They are very intense,” he said.
“They are a well-constructed team that occupies the pitch well … They can cause lots of trouble. We saw that in the last two games. They are a direct competitor in Ligue 1 and it will be another difficult match tomorrow.”
