Luis Enrique and Unai Emery are two coaches with many things in common. They are both Spanish, belong to the same generation, are incredibly intense… and have both managed PSG. Throughout their careers, they have faced each other 10 times, with the balance clearly in favor of Luis Enrique, who has secured seven wins, one draw, and two losses. However, ahead of the match, he has not hesitated to show his respect and admiration for Unai Emery before facing Aston Villa.

The great admiration of Luis Enrique for Emery

This attitude from Luis Enrique relates to the memory he has of the last time he faced Unai Emery. For this, we need to go back to the 2016/17 season when Emery began managing PSG… and Luis Enrique was still at Barcelona. In that tie, Emery secured one of his two victories against Luis Enrique after PSG’s win at the Parc des Princes. However, Barcelona managed to pull off the biggest comeback in Champions League history in the return leg.

With that memory still fresh, Luis Enrique was asked whether he thinks Emery lacks media recognition, and he didn’t hesitate to express his deep admiration for his compatriot: "I don’t know because I don’t read the press. And if he lacks recognition, I urge them to give it to him. He’s always helped his teams progress, he has boundless energy, and he’s won many titles. I hope he doesn’t get his results in the two matches against us, but I wish him all the best."

"Aston Villa plays very well"

Luis Enrique knows what he’s talking about, as Unai Emery is one of the best coaches in the world right now when it comes to planning knockout rounds. This is the only explanation for why he is the coach with the most Europa League titles in history, with a total of four. Moreover, the last time he participated in the Champions League, he led Villarreal to the semifinals in 2022 against Liverpool after eliminating Juventus and Bayern Munich along the way.

Now, at the helm of Aston Villa, he has built a team capable of competing with anyone in its return to the Champions League: “Aston Villa is capable of playing from the back, managing spaces well, and has the ability to attack with players from the second line. This will demand that we be very defensive and efficient. Aston Villa plays very good football. We’re going to see two teams with unique characteristics.”