Luis Enrique warns PSG not to look past Villarreal in Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has warned his players that their Champions LeagueChampions LeagueEurope wins over Manchester CityManchester CityPremier League · England and BarcelonaBarcelonaLaLiga · Spain will count for little when the French club face Villarreal. PSG are trying to protect a perfect start to the competition, and the Villarreal fixture is the next step in that attempt.

The message, as reported, is aimed squarely at complacency. Enrique's point is that a run built on two high-profile results does not make the next opponent any easier, and that the worth of a perfect record depends entirely on what follows it.

PSG's campaign is reported to have begun with victories in every match so far, including those against Manchester City and Barcelona. That has given the club the start it wanted, and with it the risk Enrique is now trying to manage.

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Why Enrique is talking about Villarreal

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Villarreal are the next opponent, and Enrique has chosen to make them the subject rather than the two results behind him. It is a familiar managerial move: credit the team in front of you and remove any excuse for your own players to ease off.

The intended effect is a PSG side that treats Villarreal with the same intensity as the teams it has already beaten. The alternative is the one the warning is designed to prevent — a performance shaped by the assumption that the hardest part of the campaign is already behind the squad.

What is not yet known

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Enrique has not named a starting XI for the Villarreal game, and PSG have not published team news. Whether he rotates after the wins over Manchester City and Barcelona has not been disclosed, and Villarreal have not commented publicly on his remarks.

No direct quotation from Enrique has been released, so the precise wording of the warning is not established. What is reported is its substance: that the two victories will count for little once Villarreal are the opposition.

What happens next for PSG

The perfect start will be judged across the whole campaign rather than a single night, but the Villarreal match is where it is either extended or ended. A win sustains the run and vindicates the manager's caution; anything else turns his warning into the story of the week.

Beyond the result, the fixture tests whether PSG can reach the same level against an opponent that does not arrive with the billing of a Manchester City or a Barcelona. That is the standard Enrique has set by saying the two wins will not carry over.