Enrique: This does not concern me, and Kvaratskhelia will return stronger

Spanish coach Luis Enrique has spoken about Paris Saint-Germain's preparations for their upcoming match against Lyon, scheduled to take place on Monday evening, as part of the eighth round of Ligue 1, after it was decided to postpone the match by 24 hours due to the ongoing events in France.

The coach said in his remarks: "It has been a very intense and positive week. If we want to evaluate what happened, the key was at the end of the match, when we scored goals and continued to attack. We have absorbed this concept, and we have become a team that is courageous."

Speaking about the match against Lyon, Enrique said: "It will be a difficult match, as they beat us in Paris last season, and they have the same coach, playing beautiful football. We have the motivation, and the most important thing is that if we win, we will top the table, and that is our goal."

Regarding the postponement of the match to take place alongside the Ballon d'Or ceremony, Enrique said: "It doesn't concern me. If playing on Monday is better under the current circumstances, I accept that. Sunday is a special day due to the situation in Paris, and there is also a match in the American football league. I have no problem playing on Monday."

He continued about Kvaratskhelia's cruciate ligament injury: "Unfortunately, we already knew about it on Tuesday evening. It's a tough injury, and you think about the player and what he will go through. It's not easy, but we have to stay positive. When you are a professional player and want to continue your career for 10 or 15 years, it's natural to suffer injuries. We have to look for the positive aspects, and there will indeed be positive things. He is a very important player for us, and he will remain so."

He added about the psychological state of the player after the injury: "It's hard to assess the situation after receiving news like this, but we have the experience. Playing football at a professional level involves risks, and we must accept both the positive and negative aspects, as this is life. We need to get through this phase until the player shows his true character. We will see what happens after the operation, but he will come back stronger, and I have no doubt about that."

Luis Enrique praised the development of defender Illia Zabarnyi, expressing confidence in his abilities despite needing time to adapt to the team. He said: "It's as it always is, he participates a lot and we trust him. Every player goes through different circumstances, and we need to analyze them. I have great confidence in him; he is still young, and we have been following him for several years. He will become better compared to last season. It's not easy to join a new team and perform at a competitive level from the first moment, but he has succeeded in doing that, and I am happy with him. He has become more comfortable when playing; he is an interesting player, and I am very happy to have him with us."

Regarding the possibility of signing a new player during the winter transfer window to compensate for the absence of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Luis Enrique said: "Not necessarily. Any injury does not mean we need to sign new players. I said at the beginning of the season that we are capable of handling everything, even if we suffer significant injuries, but we will remain open to available opportunities. This option is there for us."

Regarding the possibility of giving Désirée Doye greater responsibilities in light of the absence of Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Enrique refused to focus on any one player, stating: "No, please, this is what you like to talk about. Désirée Doye is a smart player, and he must continue doing what he does, regardless of the injuries around him, and the same goes for the rest of the players. It may look nice in the cinema, but the most important thing is the team and the mentality of all the players. We should not change anything in this regard."

Paris Saint-Germain's coach emphasized that injuries will not affect the team's cohesion, stating: "We will not back down or lose our focus, as we are one family. We have two or three injured players, but this is the nature of competition and the high level, and we must accept that. We are the same team with or without injuries; we played against FC Barcelona without Ousmane Dembélé for most of the match, and we also played without our captain Marquinhos, and without Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, one of our best players, in the final minutes. Nevertheless, we showed that we play the same way, and that is our strength."

In closing his remarks, Enrique confirmed that controlling the flow of the match and emotions are two essential elements of Paris Saint-Germain's style, stating: "We can act crazily during the match, but I don't like that, and we saw what happened last season. When you control the game, overcoming difficulties becomes easier. There are things we strive to control, and emotions are the key to everything; we try to manage all the small details all the time, and the players have grasped this. We must continue to work until we become better."