Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique admits he knew when the Champions League draw was made that the holders would face a difficult final group game against Newcastle.
The reigning champions welcome the Premier League side to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night remembering only too well that they managed to take just a point from them over two games during the 2023-24 campaign.
This time around, the sides sit level on 13 points in sixth and seventh places in the table respectively with the French outfit ahead by virtue only of goals scored, and both are chasing the victory they will need to secure a direct passage to the last 16.
Press conference ahead of Paris Saint-Germain – Newcastle 🔴🔵https://t.co/YrGn68snUJ
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 27, 2026
Luis Enrique told a press conference: “The goal for us is to qualify for the last 16 by winning against a very good Newcastle team.
“They have a different style, but they are a very brave team and physically strong with lots of individual quality.
“We know Newcastle because we have played them in recent years, so it will be really tough. We knew how tough it would be before starting the league phase when we saw the draw.
“But the match was in the future, and it will be more important because our aim is to win the Champions League, and we are ready for this game.”
PSG needed a controversial late penalty, scored by Kylian Mbappe, to snatch a 1-1 draw the last time Eddie Howe’s men travelled to the French capital in November 2023.
However, it was during the previous month that they had stunned the Parisians with a 4-1 demolition job on Tyneside.
Asked what he had learned from that night, a philosophical Luis Enrique, who could have Achraf Hakimi back in the squad following his return from Africa Cup of Nations duty with beaten finalists Morocco, said: “That match was around two and a half years ago and I don’t remember anything – maybe just the result.
“Negative results are usually important because you can analyse what the team did, the way we did it and all the mistakes that were made.
“No team wins every game and no team loses every game. That is part of the journey that you have to accept.”
For Willian Pacho and his defensive colleagues, the focus will be on attempting to keep Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes, who have six Champions League goals between them so far this season, quiet along with whichever of his two central strikers, Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, Howe decides to start.
Pacho said: “It’s a really important game. We are preparing well for it because it is so important. Our place in the top eight is at stake.
“We feel good. We know what sort of game it will be. It will be really tough against a difficult opponent. We feel good, we feel ready. We are all united and ready to turn in a great performance.”
