Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has tried to downplay the incident in which he pushed Chelsea striker Joao Pedro into a near-confrontation between players and coaching staff after Chelsea's crushing 3-0 Club World Cup final win on Sunday.
The incident began when Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was arguing with Joao Pedro, and then escalated after Luis Enrique raised his hands in the face of the Brazilian Pedro, who fell to the ground. The Paris Saint-Germain coach was calmly escorted away from the notable scenes that saw clashes between players from both teams.
"At the end of the game, there was a situation that I think everyone could have avoided," Luis Enrique said in a post-match press conference.
He added: "My goal and intention, as always, is to win the players' favor so that no further problems arise. Internally, there is a lot of tension and pressure."
The Spanish coach acknowledged the seriousness of the incident, adding: "There were a series of pushes by a lot of people, which I think we should all avoid and which should not happen again."
The match was very unequal, with Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer scoring twice in eight minutes during the first half and assisting striker Joao Pedro for another goal before the break. The French side finished the match with 10 men after Joao Neves was shown a red card in the 85th minute for violent conduct.
"That's how it is in football," Enrique concluded. "I can't explain everything. I think they started the game very well, we put a lot of pressure on them, and after that, I think they had chances to score."
0 Comentários