Luis Enrique refused to be downbeat after Paris Saint-Germain’s chastening friendly loss to Mallorca, noting that all opposing teams will be highly motivated against the two-time European champions this campaign.
PSG’s pre-season preparations got off to a bad start on Wednesday as they were routed 3-0 by a team that suffered relegation from LaLiga last season.
Zito Luvumbo, Jan Virgili and Antonio Raillo scored for Mallorca, who were deserving victors after racking up 17 shots and 1.81 expected goals, to PSG’s eight shots and 0.42 xG.
The European champions named an inexperienced lineup, though, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia the only first-choice outfielder to start.
They are still awaiting the returns of several players who went deep at the World Cup, including Fabian Ruiz, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Lucas Hernandez and Achraf Hakimi.
And even if the result was far from ideal, Luis Enrique was pleased to see some of the youngsters in his squad get valuable minutes.
“It’s difficult to make a fair assessment,” he told PSG’s website. “I think we had an interesting first half, but we made a mistake for their second goal, and after that it was difficult.
“But I’m pleased with what I saw. I saw several academy youngsters play very well.
“This match was about improving our physical condition. It’s not the result we would have liked, but that’s football.
90′ – It’s over in Mallorca in our first friendly.
Next friendly is against Manchester United, Saturday.#RCDMPSG – pic.twitter.com/Y6kCqoHcqI
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 5, 2026
“When you play against Paris Saint-Germain, it’s a source of motivation for every team, that’s only natural.
“It’s our first week of pre-season, and we had a lot of academy players in the squad. They’re very young players, and I have to highlight both their quality and their mentality.
“In three days, we’ll play another friendly. It’s to be expected, we’re waiting for our international players to return before we can really see what our team looks like.”
PSG face Manchester United in their final pre-season outing on Saturday, before taking on Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup and Lens in the Trophee des Champions.
