Enrique claims his relationship with Mbappe ‘perfect’

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique insists he has a “perfect” relationship with Kylian Mbappe, despite the France star forward’s attitude during recent games raising questions about his happiness at the club.
Mbappe appeared frustrated during last week’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Borussia Dortmund in Germany, disappointed with his teammates for settling for a point when a win would have seen them finish top of their group. He again looked less than happy at times during Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Lille in Ligue 1, a match in which he played through the middle of the attack, away from his usual preferred role on the left flank.
“As always, a perfect relationship,” Luis Enrique said when asked how he got on with Mbappe at a press conference on Tuesday, on the eve of PSG’s final match of the year at home to Metz. “We are not a couple but that is mainly because he doesn’t want us to be,” the Spaniard joked.
“I don’t know why I keep getting asked this question. I am very close to most of my players. Kylian is always making jokes and laughing,” he added.
Mbappe, who is out of contract at the end of this season, will celebrate his 25th birthday today. “Twenty-five is so young. I hope he continues to have more success at PSG and that we are able to help him,” Luis Enrique said. “He is fantastic. We are lucky to have him,” he added of a player who has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season.
PSG have a five-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings and face 14th-placed Metz today. However, Enrique warned his side not to be complacent against their opponents, who are coming off three straight losses. “It will be a really difficult game... they will leave us with very little spaces to attack,” he said. “We will need to be very precise and accurate to exploit those spaces.”
Enrique said he is happy to be facing Spanish side Real Sociedad in the Champions League last 16, but expects a tough outing as the season moves into a difficult second half. PSG qualified for the knockout stage placing second in Group F, while an unbeaten Sociedad topped Group D.
“I’m pleased with the draw because I really wanted to go back to Spain,” the former Barcelona and Spain coach said. “We know Real Sociedad really well. They have lots of players who have been with Spain, in the national team with me. We know it will be difficult. They won a group that included Inter Milan who were finalists in the championship last season. And they still managed to finish top.”
Enrique said he was still in the process of improving the squad to get the best out of them. “I am very pleased with the first half of the season in terms of results,” he said. “We had such a difficult Champions League group. And in the end we’ve had good results also in the league. The most difficult part is still to be done in the second half of the season.”