PARIS (AP) 鈥� Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has a luxury of choice in deciding who to leave out of his attack against Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.
All of Luis Enrique’s forwards are fit, which is a welcome rarity for him this season, and the pressure is off his side considering it heads to the second leg in London with a 5-2 lead.
With Ballon d鈥橭r winner a certain starter, Luis Enrique must leave out either Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 鈥� arguably the best in the world 鈥� 鈥� scorer of two goals in last year’s 鈥� or the resurgent .
Kvaratskhelia made a big impact as a substitute in the first leg last week, scoring twice and assisting on Vitinha’s goal as PSG pulled away for a flattering win. The scores were level and Chelsea was looking dangerous until a 74th-minute blunder from goalkeeper Filip J枚rgensen gifted PSG a lead it then embellished with Kvaratskhelia’s two late goals.
For his first goal Kvaratskhelia cut in from the left and bent a ferocious strike past J枚rgensen.
Kvaratskhelia prefers playing on the left flank but that is where Barcola plays and his form makes him hard to drop.
鈥淎 lot of players change positions,” Demb茅l茅 said. 鈥淭he coach likes players who play different roles.鈥�
Barcola is a hard-working, pacy forward with good dribbling ability, and his physicality offers Luis Enrique the option of using him through the middle during games. Barcola struggled to get into the team earlier this season but has come back into the reckoning in recent weeks.
He opened the scoring with a fine finish against Chelsea and grabbed winning goals in the French league away from home against Le Havre and Auxerre. Overall, he has 11 goals in 37 games, compared with 11 in 35 for Kvaratskhelia, 12 in 27 for Demb茅l茅, and nine in 28 for Dou茅.
With Demb茅l茅 assured of playing in his roaming center forward role, that means Kvaratskhelia is more likely to start on the right in place of Dou茅, who has not shown his best form during an .
Kvaratskhelia seems to save his best for the Champions League. Six of the Georgia star’s goals this season have come in the competition 鈥� the along with Vitinha.
No easing up
Luis Enrique does not think a three-goal lead equals a comfortable game.
鈥淭here are four teams with three-goal (advantages). Let鈥檚 see how many will qualify,” he said, referring to , Tottenham and Sporting Lisbon, who are all trailing by that margin. 鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to ease up in the Champions League, impossible. Chelsea will have chances.”
Last season PSG almost crumbled against Aston Villa in the quarterfinals, despite winning the first leg in Paris and going 2-0 up in the . By the end PSG was clinging on at 3-2 down and narrowly avoided extra time.
鈥淚t was a clear example (of) what can happen in a football match,” Luis Enrique said.
Demb茅l茅 backed PSG to withstand any comeback.
鈥淟uis Enrique used the word resilience, which characterizes our team. You have to know how to suffer in this competition,” he said. 鈥淎ny team that has won it has suffered (like) we did against Aston Villa and Arsenal (in the semifinals last season).鈥�
That does not mean PSG will prioritize defending.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 keep just sit in the last 15-20 meters and defend a lead,” Demb茅l茅 said. 鈥淥ur mentality is always to win a match.鈥�
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