If ’s 2-1 defeat at was thought-about “boring” by many, that wasn’t how the teaching employees noticed it. They thought, with rather a lot going into it. There have been rotations, sudden actions and a continuing sense of “5D chess” to get gamers into positions.
Like Arsenal, the PSG employees have been seeing giving the opposition quite a lot of sudden issues to consider. They have been additionally seeing how the younger coach had evidently upscaled from Strasbourg, that he was in a position so as to add even larger layers of sophistication to his strategy with superior gamers.
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And Rosenior had given PSG sufficient issues with the French facet. Over three video games with Strasbourg in 2024-25 and 2025-26, Rosenior misplaced his first early on away to PSG 4-2, beat them 2-1 when ’s group have been at their absolute peak, after which drew 1-1 earlier this season.
Joao Pedro is Chelsea’s wildcard, who can problem any PSG participant (Getty)
An honest file, however higher performances. Rosenior opted for an intense attacking strategy, that ensured genuinely end-to-end video games – in a approach many warning in opposition to with PSG. It broadly labored.
It might get higher, with Chelsea, if PSG do not adapt to the type of totally different little particulars their employees at the moment are making an attempt to anticipate. Rosenior has clearly been watching Luis Enrique’s facet, too, and never only for recreation preparation.
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“PSG have been so good final 12 months,” he mentioned on the eve of the sport. “The soccer I noticed… I used to be admiring it.
“I don’t have too large an ego to say I don’t have a look at different coaches and be taught from them. I confirmed the Strasbourg gamers clips of PSG final 12 months.”
By means of that, Rosenior additionally noticed one thing much more high-end, in addition to much more sudden. If the younger Chelsea coach has began to do very various things in all of the little particulars of the sport, Luis Enrique’s PSG have been arguably the primary group in a while – perhaps even a decade or extra – to do one thing very totally different with the larger image.
Rosenior can draw on the Strasbourg playbook to trigger PSG issues (AFP/Getty)
They made dribbling an intrinsic a part of their ideology, simply when it appeared prefer it was going out of the sport. The irony is that the bottom of Luis Enrique’s strategy continues to be Pep Guardiola’s positional recreation, which is usually seen as having eroded such individualism.
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Luis Enrique has as an alternative up to date the sport mannequin and upgraded it, with one thing way more livewire. If you consider that run, in spite of everything, the principle reminiscence is of Kvicha Kvaratshkelia, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Want Doue beating gamers at tempo. It was exhilarating. It’s what would possibly give Chelsea’s ever-changing defence an actual problem on this first leg.
And if these are two coaches making an attempt to do various things, in several methods, that’s all of the extra fascinating since there are additionally some vital variations between them. Rosenior is firstly of his profession, and on this very tie overseeing his first ever Champions League knock-out match. As one different coach within the competitors confides, “he has an ego, and he’s simply taken a step that hasn’t been regular in most careers, however he additionally has high quality”.
He’s actually going to have to indicate it as a result of that first ever knock-out tie additionally occurs to be in opposition to the competitors’s reigning champions, and one of the skilled and sought-after coaches within the recreation. Luis Enrique is on Manchester United’s checklist. Chelsea have checked out him previously. How couldn’t they, given it is a supervisor that has gained two trebles.
Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique is assured they continue to be the group to beat within the Champions League (PA Archive)
That distinction additionally factors to one thing extra distinctive about this Champions League final 16. There may be really a substantial break up between a small group of coaches with quite a lot of expertise – principally Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone, with 30 seasons between them, to go along with Luis Enrique’s six – and a a lot bigger group with little or no.
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5 managers, together with Rosenior, are of their first ever Champions League season. An extra three – Igor Tudor, Vincent Kompany, Eddie Howe – are of their second. This naturally feeds into wider themes from this season, as regards how the sport is altering and the mannequin is shifting extra in direction of head coaches over managers.
Inexperience hasn’t precisely been a barrier to victory, thoughts. Within the final twenty years, all of Guardiola, Roberto Di Matteo, Zinedine Zidane, Hansi Flick and Luis Enrique himself gained it of their first seasons.
This isn’t essentially to now declare that Rosenior can do this, but it surely says rather a lot that that is most likely the tie which is closest to 50-50 out of all of the eight. It’s a really tough pairing to foretell, and should nicely find yourself essentially the most participating of the spherical.
Even on the subject of the celebs, Joao Pedro is within the type of kind the place it appears like he can equal something Kvaratshkelia desires to supply.
Each groups are struggling hangovers from the Membership World Cup (Getty)
Among the causes for this steadiness are admittedly right down to different components, past high quality of squad and managers.
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PSG have endured one thing of a drop-off, that’s arguably pure after successful the Champions League. It’s partly why nobody outdoors Actual Madrid has retained it since 1990. Luis Enrique additionally endured this the season after his final treble, with Barcelona, arguably elevating questions over how sustainable his intense strategy is.
That in itself is however additional sophisticated by one thing affecting each golf equipment, which is the long-term fatigue from the Membership World Cup. That genuinely can’t be discounted, even when there’s a temptation to dismiss the issues of very costly squads overseen by one state possession and one non-public fairness possession.
As regards the gamers as professionals, although, the disrupted pre-season has clearly affected each squads. Chelsea not less than don’t have that many direct damage issues, and there’s hope that Reece James will likely be match sufficient.
These are all numerous components that Rosenior has to deal with. Luis Enrique has loads of expertise managing that. His Chelsea counterpart is firstly of that journey.
And but this tie is there in the midst of all of it, for a superbly balanced first leg. It is why, like either side, however for various causes, it’s extremely tough to foretell.