Paris Saint-Germain manager, Luis Enrique has insisted that he was only trying to break up a confrontation among during the post-match melee that marred the end of PSG’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final, after cameras appeared to capture him shoving Chelsea’s João Pedro to the ground.
The fiery scenes at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey followed João Neves’ 86th-minute red card for pulling the hair of Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella, an incident that sparked escalating tensions between both teams at full time.
“My intention was to separate the footballers” – Luis Enrique
Footage showed Chelsea’s Pedro involved in an altercation with Achraf Hakimi and Gianluigi Donnarumma, before Luis Enrique appeared to push the Brazilian forward in the face.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, the PSG boss acknowledged the chaos but firmly denied any malicious intent.
“I have no problem expressing my feeling at the end of the game in a high level of pressure,” Enrique said.
“It’s very stressful for all of us. It is going to be impossible to avoid that. Everybody was involved. It was not what was best and the end result of the pressure of the match.”
“I have seen [Chelsea coach Enzo] Maresca. I saw he had pushed others and we had to separate all the players and I do not know where that pressure came from but this is a situation we must all avoid. That goes without saying.”
“My intention is that I wanted to separate the footballers, so the situations didn’t become worse.”
João Pedro: “They lost their heads”
Chelsea striker João Pedro, whose goal earlier in the tournament helped propel the Blues to the final, brushed aside the post-match confrontation in the mixed zone, chalking it up to emotions running high.
“I don’t need to say about them because it’s normal. Everyone wants to win the game and, in the end, I think they lost their heads,” he said.
“But this is football, this has happened and now we need to enjoy it because we won the tournament, that’s it.”
“I don’t want to talk too much about them because you know how it works. Football is this.”
Chelsea Clinch World Title, PSG Left to Regroup
A brace from Cole Palmer and a third goal from João Pedro, secured Chelsea’s dominant 3-0 win, capping off an impressive run in the tournament.
PSG, who were hoping to add a Club World Cup title to their historic treble (Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and UEFA Champions League), were left stunned by the Blues’ ruthless efficiency.
Despite the loss, Luis Enrique remained defiant about his team’s identity and outlook.
“We are not losers, there are no losers, We are the runners-up. A loser is somebody who gives up. In this high level of sport there are no losers whatsoever.”
PSG will now take a brief break following their Club World Cup campaign and are scheduled to return to Ligue 1 action on the weekend of August 17, where Luis Enrique will look to reset and regroup.
As for Chelsea, the victory adds a second trophy for the England team this season under manager Enzo Maresca after enduring a turbulent few seasons.
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