Tonight, PSG was a bit descended from its cloud. Defeated by Botafogo (0-1) at the Club World Cup, the capital's club had its first defeat since the C1 final won against Inter Milan. More generally, this season, Paris had not really experienced defeat (only 2 losses in L1, but after having validated the title). So inevitably, this first underperformance of the year 2025-2026 quickly reacted the international press.
After the meeting, John Textor, owner of Botafogo, also spoke explaining that PSG had come across a team that has heart. “PSG is the best team in the world. And they were probably the best team tonight. But we played with heart and maybe we wanted more tonight. It is a privilege for us to play against them in this format. To show that Brazilian teams can play football. We played as an English team today. ” On the PSG side, Luis Enrique, at a press conference, made a rather clear speech too.
Luis Enrique is not worried
The Spanish coach, as he often does, did not want to fall into the dramaturgy after this defeat and above all made a message across: nothing alarming at all in this Parisian defeat. “If I am surprised by this defeat?” No. We knew it would be a difficult, very tight match. Botafogo defended very well. We had the opportunity to score, but we did not do it and the match became more difficult. We know the difficulties of this competition. (…) It is a very intense competition. Everyone is very motivated, whatever the team opposite, and especially against us. It was difficult to create goal opportunities. It is a phase of play that we know well, but today we had complications ”he launched before greeting the performance of Botafogo.
“Botafogo is the team that has best defended against us this season, whether in the championship or in the Champions League. They acted as a whole, they were united. They managed to put a goal from Jesus (36th). We have not generated as many opportunities as usual. We are used to playing against low blocks, but it's very difficult. Bravo to them. (…) On attitude, we were very good. The result should not erase everything. We have to look at what we did well and what we can improve. For example, we have conceded more transitions than in many matches. But on these tournaments, you have to be efficient in key moments. We were not. This competition brings together a fairly balanced mixture of what is best around the world. I think that in the future it can be an international reference tournament to see what is done. For me, as a coach, it's very interesting. “ The message has passed. Do not panic or big lessons to learn from this surprise defeat against Botafogo.
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