(Reuters) – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone spoke in glowing terms about Paris St Germain and their manager Luis Enrique before the teams meet for the very first time in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Atletico have won nine of their 16 fixtures against French opposition in Europe’s elite club competition but have never crossed paths with Ligue 1’s most successful side.
“I didn’t know that,” Simeone told reporters when that fact was mentioned. “(We need to) stay calm, compete like in every match and do our best.”
The Argentine coach did not spare words of admiration for their opponents.
“I love the way PSG play, they have a very good game, dynamic, and are marked by their coach,” Simeone said.
“They have young, dynamic players, who we don’t know where they’re going to go, and some fixed points to pin people down in defence and from there they can grow.
“They have a lot of guys moving around in different positions from midfield forward and play the kind of football that Luis has always played.”
Both sides, however, are in need of an improvement in results in the competition.
Atletico are coming off two defeats against Lille (3-1) and Benfica (4-0) after they had won their opener at home 2-1 against Red Bull Leipzig.
PSG started with a home 1-0 victory over Girona before they went on to lose 2-0 at Arsenal and draw 1-1 at home against PSV Eindhoven.
“It is still early, we are just starting, the season is long and the numbers are done at the end,” Simeone said.
“It is normal to be worried, but we have to wait for the objectives, to meet them or not meet them and to be able to give a correct opinion. It will be a tough match, that is for sure.”
Atletico will face the French champions without suspended defender Jose Maria Gimenez and Robin Le Normand, who continues to recover after a clash of heads with Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni in their 1-1 derby draw last month.
“We have quite a few casualties in the defence,” Simeone added.
“The team is competing and trying to find the tools to compete as that’s what we have to do. We will try to do it in the best way with the boys who will have to come on.”
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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