A player from Paris Saint-Germain enters the box and scores a goal.

But this player is not a striker—it’s the right-back.

In this very same play, the four players inside the penalty area have all abandoned their initial positions, yet each arrives exactly at the right place at precisely the right moment.

This kind of movement happens all the time at Paris Saint-Germain.

Luis Enrique has transformed tactical chaos into his deadliest weapon, and that is why no team has been able to stop them.

These tactics are nothing short of madness, so I decided to investigate how Luis Enrique crafted the system that is currently crushing Europe.

PSG delivered one of the most impactful performances ever witnessed in a Champions League final.

Not only did they win, but they also completed the largest margin of victory in the history of the tournament’s final.

And this was no coincidence.

In 2025, the Parisians have deployed a lightning-fast style of play that nullifies any attempt by opponents to control the match.

Gradually, they suffocate their rivals until they completely dismantle them.

What’s even more incredible is that they never stop.

At the 70th minute, leading 4-0, they keep running like madmen to regain possession.

But to reach this point, they had to break every established norm.

When Luis Enrique arrived in Paris, the club was ruled by superstars who literally held the power over the team.

This dynamic had destroyed the sporting structure and seemed impossible to change.

Since Qatar took control of Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, the club followed a strategy focused on signing big-name players, downplaying the importance of building a cohesive team, and nearly disregarding the coach’s role.

From the moment Neymar was signed for €222 million in 2017, the project centered definitively on the Brazilian’s figure, building the team around him.

Unai Emery himself admitted that Neymar’s arrival forced him to change his coaching approach—a challenge that later also confronted Thomas Tuchel.

The German coach tried to impose his style and strict working methods.

With this approach, PSG reached the first Champions League final in club history and came very close to winning it.

Despite this, Tuchel had conflicts with certain players, especially Kylian Mbappé, which were visible when he subbed him off during matches.

Tuchel even confessed feeling more like a sports minister than a coach.

After Tuchel’s dismissal midway through the 2020-2021 season, PSG opted for less authoritarian and more player-friendly coaches to avoid upsetting the stars or stirring unnecessary conflicts.

The culmination of this star-focused project came in 2021 when PSG signed Lionel Messi, joining Neymar and Mbappé.

They had formed one of the most talented attacking trios in history, determined to win everything.

However, PSG soon faced a harsh reality that overwhelmed them and was deeply worrying.

Galtier publicly admitted that Messi was freed from defensive duties, something everyone knew.

The problem was that Neymar and Mbappé also contributed very little defensively.

Consequently, plays like the one seen against Manchester City in the Champions League occurred.

Mbappé fails to reach the ball but instead of pressing, he disengages.

Below, Neymar scolds his teammates but shows no intention of hustling back.

Messi simply ignores the defensive responsibilities.

This situation allowed Manchester City to easily break down PSG’s defense on their home turf.

And this happened constantly.

Defending with two or three players less is a luxury you simply cannot afford in the Champions League.

But the 2023 Bayern Munich tie revealed an even graver problem.

PSG’s star trio had one of the highest possession rates, yet the chances created did not match that dominance.

The team lacked structure and order in almost every phase of play.

When trying to build from the back, they often lost the ball in dangerous areas, conceding easy goals.

Basically, their strategy was to get the ball to the three stars upfront at all costs.

However, Messi and Neymar preferred receiving the ball at their feet.

So, when the ball wasn’t cleanly played from the back, it often reached them in unfavorable positions with a lot of ground to cover.

For example, in the first leg against Bayern, Mbappé was a substitute.

With Messi and Neymar alone, PSG struggled to create chances.

Once Mbappé entered, they started generating real danger by playing balls into space for him to use his speed.

This became PSG’s most recurrent solution, making them predictable in high-level matches.

Therefore, the “Star-studded PSG” was a team without structure, divided and broken both on and off the pitch.

At this point, Nasser Al-Khelaifi was especially fed up and met with Luis Campos to devise a solution to all these problems.

That solution had a name: Luis Enrique Martínez.

Luis Enrique, a coach with a commanding personality, arrived with a plan never before seen in Paris.

“This is the challenge I have here.

I have committed to building a team, and I have the club’s support,” he said.

Many thought it impossible in a club like PSG.

From the outset, Luis Enrique made his intentions clear.

He told Verratti and Neymar—two heavyweights in the dressing room—that he didn’t count on them.

Luis Enrique realized he had a mountain of work ahead.

He said the players were used to chaos, playing without structure as we saw earlier, and he wanted to instill order.

But this was easier said than done.

Throughout the season, Luis Enrique experimented with different systems, enduring heavy criticism from French media, especially when the team lost.

Even when winning, he faced backlash.

“One day we won 1-0, and he told me we deserved to lose, that only thanks to the goalkeeper did we not lose,” a player revealed.

Then came a pivotal match where Luis Enrique discovered a key tactical insight that remains crucial to PSG today.

“Six players pressure us.

Don’t think it’s 16, just six, and we can’t get the ball to these players,” he said.

Real Sociedad was suffocating PSG in their own half, and at halftime, a decisive change was made.

Vitinha, who usually played as an interior midfielder, was moved back to a holding midfield role to improve ball progression.

From that moment, PSG overcame pressure more easily and won 2-0.

In this tie, Killian Mbappé’s individual brilliance stood out, as he was playing at a high level.

However, Luis Enrique demanded more defensive work from him.

“I read you liked Michael Jordan.

Jordan used to grab his teammates by the balls and make them defend like crazy,” Luis Enrique told Mbappé.

Mbappé’s defensive effort was crucial in the quarterfinal against Barcelona.

His pressure freed Ronald Araújo, who, as seen in the match, struggled to play out from the back.

An error by Araújo led to a pivotal play resulting in his red card.

In the semifinals, PSG was favored against Borussia Dortmund but surprisingly failed to score in both legs.

The Germans held firm and advanced to the final.

Still, Luis Enrique finished his first season knowing his project had taken a step forward, fully backed by Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

At the season’s end, Mbappé announced his departure to Real Madrid, meaning PSG lost their top scorer.

He had just completed his best scoring season.

Paradoxically, although Luis Enrique wanted to keep Mbappé, he knew his exit would bring something the team lacked—and ultimately, it proved decisive.

“A player who moves wherever he wants means there are moments in the game I don’t control.

Next year, I will control them all, without exception,” Luis Enrique said.

However, things didn’t go as expected at first.

PSG stumbled in four of their first five Champions League games, nearly getting eliminated in the group stage—a catastrophic scenario.

This sparked relentless attacks from the French press, demanding Luis Enrique’s head with a front cover blaming him as the main culprit.

Everything changed in a match against Manchester City.

The English side took a 2-0 lead, but from there, Luis Enrique’s plan began to influence the game directly.

Luis Enrique always seeks to control the match but was facing one of Europe’s best ball-dominant teams.

He sought a solution key to his tactics: generating numerical superiority.

PSG always tries to accumulate more players than the opponent in a specific zone to break pressing lines and disorganize the rival.

In this case, the three midfielders joined the two center-backs, forming a constant 5 vs 4.

This made City’s pressing useless because PSG always found a free man.

Once they bypassed the first line, PSG attacked with full force.

City’s defense became disorganized, leaving the wingers in one-on-one situations with full space behind the full-backs.

Bradley Barcola exploited this space to score PSG’s first goal in a comeback victory.

Guardiola himself admitted they couldn’t control PSG’s midfield superiority and intensity.

Since the Real Sociedad game, Vitinha has regularly played as the pivot.

The Portuguese has become vital in ball progression, providing clarity and dictating the game’s rhythm.

“I think he’s an incredible footballer,” said a teammate.

He nearly broke the record for most passes in a Champions League edition, a record held by Xavi Hernández.

Together with Joao Neves’ energy and Fabián’s versatility, PSG’s midfield perfectly interprets all game situations.

Opponents are smart and know that if they allow these three time to think, they’ll have problems.

Many teams resort to man-marking the midfielders.

In the round of 16 second leg against Liverpool, Erik ten Hag’s side implemented suffocating pressure, matching PSG’s numbers in their own half.

But here emerged a key element: the false nine, usually occupied by Ousmane Dembélé, “the mosquito.”

The Frenchman dropped between Liverpool’s midfield and defense.

Upon receiving the ball, he turned and created the goal-scoring opportunity that proved decisive in the tie.

This was no coincidence.

It was even more pronounced in the Champions League semifinals against Arsenal.

The Gunners also pressed PSG’s midfield intensely.

PSG moved intelligently to create space where Dembélé received the ball in his own half.

This confused Arsenal completely, allowing Dembélé the time and space to advance and combine with Cabrasgelia.

Cabrasgelia, a huge threat in one-on-one situations, drew Declan Rice’s attention, creating the perfect gap for Dembélé to score a spectacular goal, matching his best career numbers.

Dembélé took a huge step forward that PSG needed after Mbappé’s departure, though he ended up being decisive in an unexpected way.

Dembélé generates many passing options when PSG is heavily pressed in their own half, and all these chances start from a tactical detail of Luis Enrique’s that is also crucial: the two full-backs.

PSG’s base formation is a 4-3-3, but in attack, it constantly morphs.

A recurring pattern is that on the left side, Nuno Mendes stays back, forming a back three with Kimpembe and Marquinhos.

The Portuguese provides another passing lane from the back and has been outstanding defensively—just ask Mohamed Salah, who probably still has nightmares about him.

On the other side, something completely different happens.

Achraf Hakimi frequently moves into midfield, supporting the interior midfielders and winger, often creating the numerical superiority we talked about.

This role has allowed him to exploit his offensive qualities and post incredible stats.

Both full-backs were key against Aston Villa in the quarterfinals, each scoring a goal in a match PSG had to fight hard to win.

William Pacho made a crucial defensive intervention and proved why he’s one of the season’s breakout stars.

But the ultimate hero was Gianluigi Donnarumma, who made spectacular saves to keep the scoreline, not only against Aston Villa but also in the semifinals against Arsenal and notably in the penalty shootout against Liverpool in the round of 16.

With all this, PSG reached the second Champions League final in their history, set to face Inter Milan.

Inter had a peculiarity that could cause problems for Luis Enrique’s team, as they had done against opponents with similar playing styles.

Simone Inzaghi had crafted a masterful plan adapting based on the opponent.

Against possession-heavy teams like Arsenal, Barça, and Bayern, Inter played more defensively, even encouraging the opponent to press high to exploit space behind.

For instance, against Bayern Munich, Sommer waited for the Germans to push up before playing a direct ball to the striker, leading to Inter’s first goal at the Allianz Arena.

Luis Enrique was analyzing this with popcorn in hand when he received a notification from his favorite YouTuber, Cristian Nieto.

Excited, he exclaimed, “This is amazing, I love football!”
Cristian Nieto then subscribed using even the kit man’s account and got to work.

Luis Enrique knew that effective counter-pressing against the Italians would be key.

They even gave away the kickoff to press Inter in their own half.

He ordered Dembélé to “bite like crazy” at Sommer, aiming to disrupt his thinking and prevent a repeat of the Bayern scenario.

The players executed perfectly, gradually suffocating Inter in their own half.

Pacho and Marquinhos kept a close eye on Lautaro and Thuram, leaving Inter with no outlet.

From this pressure came PSG’s first goal, revealing the team’s best-kept secret.

PSG recovered the ball, and Cabrasgelia received it wide.

They overloaded the box with many players, causing Inter to collapse and allowing Vitinha to receive the ball outside the area, completely unmarked.

Dou then made a run, and Arafat finished calmly.

Notice something strange?
All the players inside the box are out of their original positions, yet they’re exactly where they need to be.

That is PSG’s great secret.

Since Cabrasgelia’s arrival in the winter transfer window, PSG has had four attackers with incredible mobility and game-changing ability.

They are among the teams with the most dribbles per match in the competition.

This unpredictability makes it impossible for opponents to know which player will appear in which zone.

After PSG’s first goal, Inter was forced to push forward, leaving spaces that PSG exploited with intelligence.

The result was staggering—the biggest margin of victory ever recorded in a Champions League final.

Luis Enrique finally achieved PSG’s long-awaited dream: winning the Champions League.

But most importantly, Luis Enrique redefined what it means to be a star at PSG.

Stars are no longer mere ornaments.

I would award the Ballon d’Or solely for the defensive leadership shown by Mr.

Ousmane Dembélé, humbly leading the team.

Luis Enrique has shown us all he is a tactical genius, proving that self-confidence in your ideas and values is vital to succeed.

But without a doubt, the most important lesson transcends football.

Life’s blows are unpredictable, and sometimes you cannot fully recover from them.

However, you can learn to absorb them differently, look ahead with hope, and strive every day to become a better version of yourself.

This is the true legacy of Luis Enrique’s PSG.