PSG Cruise Past Lille 4-1 Ahead of Champions League Clash with Liverpool

Paris Saint-Germain cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Lille in Ligue 1 on Saturday, with head coach Luis Enrique hailing it as the “best first half of the season” for his team.

The Ligue 1 leaders were dominant in the opening 45 minutes, scoring all four of their goals through Bradley Barcola, Marquinhos, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue. The win extended PSG’s unbeaten run to 10 games across all competitions.

However, Luis Enrique was quick to shift the focus to next week’s crucial Champions League last-16 first leg clash against Premier League leaders Liverpool.

“They’re the most in-form team in Europe, both in terms of results and the way they play. It could have been a Champions League final, so we’re going to try and play to our strengths,” the Spanish coach told reporters.

PSG and Liverpool have met twice before in the Champions League group stage in 2018, with both teams winning at home. According to Opta’s supercomputer, the English club are the favorites to progress from the tie, with a 60% chance of doing so.

“We’re not going to change much. [Saturday’s game] was a test, Liverpool and Lille have similar things. We put them under such pressure that they could no longer play from the back, they had to play long,” Luis Enrique added.

“It will be different, it will be very complicated of course, but we are in the best period of the season. We’re going to play against the best team in Europe, who qualified brilliantly.”

The Parisians’ form has improved significantly since their last-16 defeat against Bayern Munich in November, and they will be looking to cause an upset against the in-form Reds next week.

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