Paris Saint-Germain qualified for the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday at AS Monaco’s expense, but the title holders’ performance was far from convincing. At the press conference, Luis Enrique hit back fiercely. “Is it hard to play against us? Ask our opponents and you’ll see what they say.”
Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco shared the points in a 2–2 draw in a high-profile all-French European clash, yet the match did not generate the blockbuster audience many might have expected.
According to the report, the anticipated sky-high viewing figures failed to materialise and, strikingly, more viewers tuned in for the Ligue 1 meeting between the sides in November. That domestic encounter ended 1–0 to Monaco, even though the principality club had to cope with a red card for Thilo Kehrer.
Discipline again became central to the story on Thursday, with Monaco reduced to ten men once more. Mamadou Coulibaly was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, and the dismissal altered the balance of the contest. With the numerical advantage, PSG were able to reassert control and “restore order”, preventing the match from slipping away at a moment when Monaco had reasons to feel they were still in the fight.
The incident proved to be a major source of frustration for Monaco coach Sébastien Pocognoli, who did not hide his anger in the post-match press conference and directed his criticism at referee István Kovács. Pocognoli suggested the bar for a second booking was not applied consistently, pointing specifically to a comparable situation involving PSG defender Lucas Hernández. In his view, if Coulibaly’s challenge was deemed worthy of a second yellow, then Hernández could just as plausibly have been punished the same way. Pocognoli also framed the moment as emblematic of a broader pattern he believes Monaco have faced too often, arguing that different standards were being used. He contrasted Coulibaly’s youth with Hernández’s reputation and experience, saying the PSG player “has won the World Cup”, and insisted that this kind of perceived imbalance is what fuels Monaco’s sense of frustration.
While Monaco’s complaints centred on the officiating, the main debate around PSG quickly turned to something more uncomfortable for the reigning European champions: their level of performance. PSG, after all, are not being judged as an ordinary side. They are the holders of the Champions League title after winning the trophy for the first time last year in emphatic fashion, and that achievement has inevitably raised the baseline expectation. Against that backdrop, the French press response was sharp. L’Équipe openly asked what had become of the PSG that “conquered Europe”, and the paper’s verdict was cutting: PSG, it argued, never truly looked like a European powerhouse at any stage of the match. For a club that carries elite status and speaks in the language of dominance, ambition and continuity, L’Équipe’s message was that “going through the motions” is not a plan and that the team needs to progress with something more convincing than the sloppiness and weaknesses on display. The criticism was pointed, highlighting a misfiring, stalled attack and a “cardboard defence”, a phrase used to suggest fragility and a lack of solidity at the back.
Inside the PSG camp, the assessment was more restrained but still acknowledged shortcomings. João Neves admitted to RMC Sport that the team did not play in the way it normally does, while rejecting the idea of a single, clear root cause. Instead, he framed the challenge as part of the burden of being champions: winning the Champions League once is hard enough, but repeating the feat is even harder because the margin for error is so small and every opponent raises their game. Neves emphasised that PSG must learn quickly, saying the coach expects more and that the team will need to take lessons from mistakes that, at this level, can become decisive.
Luis Enrique, however, struck a noticeably more confident tone in his press conference. The Spanish coach pushed back on the suggestion that PSG are straightforward to face and insisted that the reality is the opposite. Rather than accepting criticism at face value, he argued that the best way to judge how demanding PSG are is to ask the teams who play against them. His claim was emphatic: it is “very, very difficult” to play against PSG. Luis Enrique also broadened the message beyond this single match, presenting PSG as a side prepared to compete against any opponent and in any competition, and stating that the club will continue on its current path.
Not everyone in the French media ecosystem was convinced by that insistence, though, and RMC Sport analyst Daniel Riolo offered a more structural critique. In his view, PSG must rediscover their “engine” the intensity, balance and fluency that drove last season’s best performances. Riolo argued that the midfield that impressed so much last year is no longer intact, and he highlighted both personnel absence and form as issues: Fabián Ruiz is not there, and Vitinha, he says, is not operating at the extraordinary level supporters have come to expect. For Riolo, repeating tactical explanations is not enough if the team’s on-pitch output does not match the theory. His conclusion was that PSG need individuals to ignite the side in decisive moments, and he singled out Ousmane Dembélé as the player who must deliver an outstanding performance when the pressure rises.
With the Champions League round of 16 now looming, the stakes are obvious. PSG may have the aura and the status of holders, but the next stage will demand a clear step up in performance. A two-legged tie against Barcelona or Chelsea awaits, and the message from critics is blunt: if PSG want to defend their crown, they will need to look far more like the team that conquered Europe last season, and far less like a side accused of playing with imprecision, a stuck attack and a defence too easy to puncture.
Updated: 12:11, 26 Feb 2026
