Luis Enrique attributes PSG's loss to Atletico Madrid to misfortune

PARIS – Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique attributed his team's 2-1 loss at home to Atletico Madrid to unfortunate circumstances, acknowledging that the Ligue 1 leaders' chances of advancing in the Champions League were now at risk as they found themselves at the bottom of their group on Nov 6.

PSG applied their usual possession pattern but were again pretty much toothless in attack, owing Warren Zaire Emery’s opener to an Atletico defensive blunder.

Nahuel Molina equalised quickly and the visitors’ resilience paid off three minutes into injury time thanks to second-half substitute Angel Correa’s goal at the end of a counter attack – a scenario that Enrique labelled a “bad joke” at the end of a “s****y day”.

“There are no words. I think that in our three home games, we were highly superior to our opponents but we did not have any luck,” the coach said.

“But as long as there are matches, we will fight,” he added, before his team travel to Bayern Munich on Nov 26.

PSG are 25th in the 36-team league, just in the elimination zone, midway through the group phase.

“I’ve been in the game for over 30 years and I can’t explain it. It’s just bad luck. We were infinitely superior to our opponents,” added Enrique.

“We would have deserved to win our three home games. Comfortably.”

Asked if PSG’s chances to go through the league phase were in danger, he said: “Undoubtedly.

“We created 50 chances in three games and we failed to convert so many of them... we need 20 clear chances to score and our opponents sneeze and they score... it sounds like a bad joke.

“Creating chances is the team’s responsibility and I’m responsible for the team, so I’m responsible for the results. If I fail, I will fail with my ideas. We’re on the right path.”

His Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone praised his team for their performance despite injuries in defence.

“Today we were missing five players in defence,” he said after a result that put them on six points, above the elimination zone.

“Despite these absences, the team were strong; we conceded the goal on a mistake but we continued to play.”

Elsewhere, a second-half Jamal Musiala goal got Bayern back on track in the competition with a 1-0 home win over Benfica.

Struggling in Europe after back-to-back losses left them outside the knockout places, Musiala broke through the stubborn Benfica defence, heading in a Harry Kane assist.

Despite the win, Bayern still have work to do in Europe, as the German giants sit 17th.

In another match, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said he was pleased with his players’ focus and determination to earn a commanding 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade.

After a win that lifted Barca to sixth place with nine points, having scored a competition-leading 15 goals in four games, Flick said he liked how his side got things done with the seriousness required.

“The most important thing is the three points, it’s not easy to win away from home in this competition, the Champions League is complicated,” the German, who led Bayern to the 2020 Champions League title, told Movistar Plus. , AFP