PSG : How does Luis Enrique manage his squad?
On Tuesday evening, PSG extended their impressive run in the Champions League. The two-time European champions equalled their best unbeaten streak in the Champions League (13 matches) by beating a Barça side (4-2) that had swept aside everything in its path until now.
But this prestigious win was tarnished by three pieces of bad news, one in particular: the serious injury to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, on top of the multi-week absences of the Ballon d’Or winner (Dembélé) and the captain (Marquinhos)…
Having to do without them, with Nuno Mendes already ruled out for the Barça match, Luis Enrique will have to readjust how he uses his players. His management was already quite distinctive before the Champions League clash.
Miss three players and the whole squad feels empty ?
On Wednesday lunchtime, PSG confirmed the muscle injuries to Dembélé and Marquinhos and the Georgian’s ligament rupture, making for a difficult morning after the victory… Obviously, these three players count for a great deal in the Parisian club’s success. But in a squad rich in talent, their absences could be well managed.
Though not conclusive, historical stats on the impact of absentees on PSG’s performances suggest this team has already coped well in such situations.
Probably more down to chance and the level of opposition, Paris have notably won a higher percentage of games without Marquinhos (72.6%) than with him (64.5%) since the 2023/24 season. The figures are similar for Kvara (even though he has missed only 14 matches since his arrival) and Dembélé.
In the past (since 25 January 2025), PSG have found themselves without all three players at the same time only 6 times, with a clearly favourable record of 3 wins, including the one at Barcelona in October 2025, 2 draws and just 1 defeat.
STAT: Ousmane Dembélé has been involved in 108 goals with PSG (65 goals, 43 assists), the highest total for any player at the club since 2023/24, representing 24% of Paris’s 450 total goals over the period.
How has PSG handled injuries to their stars?
Before Kvaratskhelia, Paris SG had already faced long absences of their stars, such as Neymar on several occasions, Presnel Kimpembe, or more recently Lucas Hernandez.
Since 2024, Luis Enrique has had to deal with only 8 long-term absences among his most important players. With what results?
STAT: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been involved in 47 goals with PSG (29 goals, 18 assists), the third-highest total since 25 January 2025 behind Dembélé (73) and Désiré Doué (53), and 18% of Paris’s goals over the period.
Under Luis Enrique, heavy rotation despite a small squad
Faced with several injuries, Luis Enrique will have fewer options, especially in attack, to share out playing time. This will require only a partial adjustment.
While the Spanish coach has mastered the distribution of minutes, he is not a big consumer of players. This season, PSG have used only 21 players in Ligue 1 McDonald’s; only Lorient have used fewer (20).
However, 20 of those 21 players have started at least once. In absolute terms, six clubs have started more players, but PSG have one of the highest ratios of players who have been starters (95.2%), which shows their coach’s rotation.
As a result, PSG rank 3rd among the teams making the most changes on average from one league match to the next in Europe (4.2), behind Vigo and Bologna.
Another illustration of the Luis Enrique method: last season he skilfully adjusted his team depending on the competition, while maintaining an exceptional level of performance.
Also in 2025/26, fewer than half (5) of the 11 players with the most minutes for PSG in Ligue 1 McDonald’s were also among the 11 most used in the Champions League.
This approach has seen, for example, new signing Mika Godts appear very little in the Champions League (26 minutes) compared with the league (6 matches, 177 minutes). The Belgian international could be called on to play more in the coming weeks.
