Micah Richards, a renowned sports pundit, recently shared an intriguing incident involving Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique. The incident occurred during last season's Champions League when Richards predicted Barcelona's victory over PSG in the quarter-finals.
Richards and Gary Lineker were discussing on an episode of "The Rest Is Football" about how Enrique has shaped his team post the departure of Lionel Messi and Neymar. During this conversation, Richards confessed that he had favoured Barcelona to beat PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals 2023/24. This comment did not sit well with Enrique who confronted him expressing his displeasure.
Micah Richards, Manchester City legend, said:
"I think he's just about speaking to me, because on CBS we have something called 'the bracket'. So when you get into the last eight you've got to pick who's going to go through.
"And PSG, last season, had someone tough, and I just was like, 'I just don't fancy PSG'. But he watches the show, CBS, he watches the clips. So on the show, he goes, 'I'm not very happy with you, Micah'. I was like, 'Why?! What's wrong?'. 'You said you were going to go out'.
"I was like, 'Oh my God!'."
Unexpected turnaround
Despite Richard’s prediction, PSG stunned everyone by defeating Barcelona 4-1 at Camp Nou in the reverse fixture after losing 3-2 at Parc des Princes. This unexpected victory propelled them into the semi-finals.
However, their journey ended abruptly as they lost both legs to Borussia Dortmund by a scoreline of 1-0 each time. Dortmund was later defeated by Real Madrid in the final match with a scoreline of 2-0.
In terms of overall performance, PSG finished at a disappointing 15th position under Champions League’s new league format after eight games where they managed four wins, one draw and three losses.
Hunt for first-ever Champions League title
Despite past setbacks, hope is still alive for PSG as they qualified for knockout phase playoffs following their impressive win over VfB Stuttgart away from home on Wednesday. These playoffs are scheduled across February 11th -12th and February18th -19th where they aim to progress into round-of-16 and continue their pursuit for their first-ever Champions League title.
Their fate will be decided on Friday at 12pm when the draw for the playoffs will take place. They are set to face either Monaco or Brest, their Ligue 1 rivals. If they emerge victorious in this clash, they will then face either Liverpool or Barcelona in the round of 16.
Micah Richards' revelation about his encounter with Luis Enrique highlights the passion and intensity that surrounds football predictions and outcomes. As PSG prepares for its upcoming matches, fans and pundits alike will be eagerly watching to see if they can finally clinch their first-ever Champions League title.
