06/05/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | MAY 6, 2026

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Malaysian Paper

/thesundaily /

L UIS ENRIQUE will join a select group of coaching greats if he leads Paris Saint-Germain to Champions League glory again this season, and it is his remarkable management that has the French club tantalisingly close to reaching the final once again. PSG head to Munich for the second leg of their semifinal against Bayern tomorrow (3am Malaysian time) defending a 5-4 lead from an incredi ble first meeting which was one of the greatest matches in the competition’s history. “It was the best game I have been fortunate enough to be involved in as a coach,” Luis Enrique said after that encounter at the Parc des Princes. He nevertheless believes his side will need to score another three goals at the Allianz Arena in order to see off the German champions and secure a place in the May 30 final in Budapest. But he and his side need not look too far back for inspiration – their last visit to Munich ended in PSG ham m e r i n g I n t e r Milan

A coaching great? Enrique has PSG on brink of another Champions League final

Barcelona midfielder really made his name as a coach when he led the Catalans, featuring Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, to a treble of Champions League, La Liga and Spanish Cup in 2015. This season his squad manage ment has been remarkable, albeit undoubtedly helped by that margin PSG have in Ligue 1. Captain Marquinhos, for example, has started more games in Europe than in Ligue 1. Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele has started just nine times in Ligue 1, as many as in the Champions League. Meanwhile, the devastating Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been argua bly the best player in this season’s Champions League. Up to now it has been a triumph of management, but the biggest test awaits in Munich tomorrow. If PSG can see off a brilliant Bayern team, Luis Enrique will be a step closer to becoming just the fifth coach to win three European Cups or Champions Leagues, after Carlo Ancelotti, Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola. – AFP ROMA eased past Fiorentina 4-0 yes terday to move within a point of the final Champions League spot in Serie A. Gianluca Mancini, Wesley and Mario Hermoso made all but sure of victory in a clinical opening 34 min utes in the Italian capital before Niccolo Pisilli added a fourth goal in the second half to keep up the pres sure on Juventus in fourth. Fifth placed Roma head to Parma in 12th on Sunday with Como in sixth travel ling to relegated Hellas Verona earlier in the day and Juve on 65 points heading to Lecce on Saturday. Napoli are second on 70 points and AC Milan on 67 are the other contenders for the four Champions League berths with three rounds of the season to play. The battle for the Scudetto was ended on Sunday after Inter Milan beat Parma 2-0 to claim their third league crown in six seasons. Earlier, Lazio edged Cremonese 2-1 as Jamie Vardy’s side remain four points from safety. Boyer’s explosive meltdown TRISTAN BOYER is struggling to make an impact with his tennis this season but is building quite a reputa tion for temper tantrums after a spec tacular meltdown during a Challenger series event in Italy yesterday. The third-seeded American lost his cool when, having lost the opening set, he gave up his serve to go 6-5 down to teenager Daniele Rapagnetta in their clash at the Francavilla al Mare Open. The 25-year-old, who was a clear favourite to win the round of 32 match against the world No. 938, reacted by repeatedly smashing his racket on the court in frustration. An initial warning failed to stem the American’s fury and, as Boyer raged on, the umpire docked him a game for racket abuse to hand Rapagnetta the match victory. Boyer exploded again, abusing the umpire with a string of expletives and breaking another racket on the official’s chair. He smashed a couple more on a court side bench as he continued his tirade before walking off court and slam ming the door loudly behind him. BRIEFS Roma remain in CL hunt

fashion from the era of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar, and of regular European disappointments. To put their consistency under Luis Enrique into more context: before his arrival, PSG had reached the Champions League semifinals three times in their history. His success seems to come down to that motivation, and an intensity of personality which comes across in the way his team plays – high energy, incessant pressing, terrifying pace. “He is the most positive person I have met in my life. He is always moti vated and always in a good mood. We all learn from him and his way of see ing things,” said PSG’s Qatari president Nasser al-Khelaifi. His side also stand on the verge of another Ligue 1 title – albeit their finan cial advantage over the rest of France’s clubs makes that far less remarkable.

5-0 in last season’s final as they won the Champions League for the first time in their history. Maybe, after all he has achieved in his career, Luis Enrique could have simply walked away following that tri umph, his job done. But his motiva tion has remained intact this season. “Last season we achieved the objective that everyone around us had been dreaming of. But we want to con tinue making history and that now means winning two Champions Leagues in a row,” said the Spaniard on the eve of this campaign. He has now taken PSG to the Champions League semifinals for the third time in as many seasons since being appointed in 2023.

Luis Enrique turns 56 on Friday but that intensity also comes across in how he lives his life. This is a man who has competed in triathlons and run several marathons – once going under the three-hour mark in Florence. Sometimes seen walking around the training ground barefoot, in September he fractured a collarbone after falling off his bike. He was quickly over that injury and fully focused on PSG. So much so that the man who played in three World Cups and coached Spain in Qatar in 2022, is apparently not remotely inter ested in the approaching tournament in North America. “I am the coach of PSG. I don’t care about anything else. I’m not inter ested,” he said recently in response to one World Cup-related question. The former Real Madrid and

Thanks to him, PSG have moved on in spec t a c u l a r

Bayern’s Kompany promises repeat fireworks in Munich

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. – REUTERSPIC

BAYERN MUNICH coach Vincent Kompany has promised to stick with his high-octane, high-risk approach in tomorrow’s Champions League semi final second leg against holders Paris Saint Germain. PSG hold a one-goal advantage from last week’s incredible 5-4 first leg in Paris, where some of the game’s leading attackers were given free rein to go for the jugular. Despite the match in the French capital being lauded as one of the best games of the modern era, Kompany and his side have faced criticism for being too vulnerable at the back. But the former central defender has repeatedly promised not to change a thing and even doubled down as six-time European Cup winners Bayern look to blast their way to the final in Budapest. Already Bundesliga champions, Bayern have scored 116 goals in 32 games – a record in the league and among the best anywhere in Europe. This approach does leave them vulnerable, however. The Bavarians have conceded 16 goals in their

“We’re not going to change our style of play in three days and just sit back and defend,” Kimmich said. “We have to win, regardless of whether it’s another 5-4, a 3-2, or a 1-0 victory.” Kompany also cited PSG’s swashbuckling run to the crown last season as an example of success following a courageous approach. “PSG were never going to change the style that won them the Champions League last year,” Kompany said. “We come into the match as the team that has won the most games and scored the most goals in Europe. “Is anyone going to take a backward step? Nobody will accept that.” Having served his suspension, Kompany will once again be on the touchline tomorrow. “Every team uses the tools at their disposal,” he said on Saturday. “We’ll use ours. There’s things we can improve on, but it’s about winning, we won’t forget that.” – AFP

past six games, with just one clean sheet. And while Bayern’s squad has been heavily rotated in some of those matches, the 21 goals they scored in that six-game run also shows the potency of their playing style. Suspended for the opening leg, Kompany watched the match from the stands. The Belgian, who is coaching just his second season in the Champions League, said he saw room for improvement. “I’m not the kind of person who sees things in black or white. “For me, what happened in Paris is perfectly logical,” Kompany said recently. “I also would be glad to keep a clean sheet, but what we absolutely cannot do is lose what made us strong.” The strategy has paid clear dividends in the competition so far. As someone many of the Bayern dressing room will have looked up to during his playing days, Kompany has built a strong relationship with his squad, who clearly back the supercharged strat egy.