Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique played down his squad's injury crisis and talked up his team's confidence as he prepared his players to start the defence of their Champions League crown on Wednesday night.
PSG entertain the Italian outfit Atalanta at the Parc des Princes for the first of the eight games in the tournament's league phase.
Enrique's charges will also host Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United and travel to Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Athletic Bilbao and Sporting.
His side welcomes Atalanta missing star strikers Ousmane Dembélé and Desire Doue. The duo were hurt on international duty for France. Three more players were injured during the 2-0 win over Lens on Sunday in Ligue 1.
"It happens to everyone," said the 55-year-old Spaniard. "It is a bit of a difficult time for us but I am calm about it.
"We have more confidence than last year at this moment of the Champions League," he added.
Enrique's tactics came under fire during the league phase of the 2024/2025 Champions League. His experiment to play Kang-in Lee as a withdrawn centre forward against PSV Eindhoven in October backfired and second choice goalkeeper ...blundered cost the game at Bayern Munich.
PSG failed to finish in the eight automatic qualifying places for the last-16 and advanced after a two-match play-off against Ligue 1 counterparts Brest.
Once in the latter stages, PSG seared through Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal to reach the final for a second time.
Champions League: PSG boss Enrique warns against complacency in Brest clash
Champions League triumph
They obliterated Inter Milan 5-0 to register the biggest victory in a final in the competition's 70-year history.
"For me, it's harder to win the first than the second or third," Enrique said. "The first title is always difficult because the players don't think they're capable of winning it.
"But we showed the way. Now, the whole of PSG and the young players want to win it and they know they're capable.
"We're the European champions, and for Paris as a city, for PSG as a club and for the fans, our aim is to win a second Champions League in order to make even more history.
"It'll be very difficult to do so, but we need to be ambitious and to always think about how to improve. That's our mentality."
While PSG have started the Ligue 1 season with four wins out of four, Atalanta arrive in Paris with one win and two draws from their opening games in Serie A under new coach Ivan Juric.
The 50-year-old Croatian succeeded Gian Piero Gaspirini who had led the side for nine years before departing for Roma.
Champions League: PSG boss Enrique hails team spirit ahead of Arsenal clash
New man in charge
"Atalanta changed their manager this summer, so it'll be difficult for us to predict how they'll play," said Enrique.
"Gasperini has left his mark on the team and it will be a very demanding match for us. But just like in previous seasons, we're talking about a tough team with quality players who press high and who know how to use the ball.
"It's always hard to play against Italian teams. We need to adapt to our opponents' playing style, but that's one of our qualities."
After Wednesday night's match, PSG travel to arch rivals Marseille on Sunday for one of the biggest games in the Ligue 1 calendar.
Marseille opened their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night with a 2-1 defeat at Real Madrid. Timothy Weah gave the visitors the lead mid way through the first-half at the Santiago Bernabeu.
But France international Kylian Mbappé levelled from the penalty spot after 29 minutes. And the former PSG striker converted a second penalty to complete Madrid's comeback.
"When we get used to playing at places like the Bernabeu, me, the players and the supporters might have a different impact," said Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi.
"I'm glad we're playing PSG straight away," he added. "Because playing against Madrid or PSG is exactly what this team needs to improve so that it can take another step forward in terms of mentality and ambition.
"It will give us the chance to see if, in the future, we will have a great team."
