Paris Saint-Germain suffered a heavy defeat last night at Club World Cup, with Chelsea taking the first Club World Cup under the new rules, second overall, and sending Luis Enrique and his squad a message: they're not invincible. The 3-0 match ended in controversy and a big brawl... that involved the manager, Luis Enrique.
After winning everything this year, PSG season has ended in a dramatic way against Chelsea. Luis Enrique did not learn from their defeat against Botafogo earlier in the Club World Cup, and was punished by Enzo Maresca, who didn't need the ball possession (33%) to have as many shots as PSG: 10 shots, 5 on target and 3 goals, vs. 8 shots, 6 on target from by the French champions.
At the end of the match, the Spanish manager entered into a brawl in the field between players, and touched Joao Pedro in the face and neck. It's not a slap, as some have said, but not a caress either, even if later the Brazilian player, who joined Chelsea two weeks ago, dramatically falls to the ground.
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The images of the incident have been making the rounds since the match ended, and this, alongside Neves' pulling Cucurella's hair and getting red card, are the most talked-about aspects of the match (well, that and Trump crashing Chelsea's victory photo).
Luis Enrique said that he was trying to separate their players, and said this to DAZN after the match: "I'm stupid. He's standing there, he pushes me, I touch him, and he throws himself down."
"My intention, as always, was to separate the players so there wouldn't be any further problems. We should all have prevented the situation from escalating. There was a lot of tension and pressure. I saw Maresca pushing some players, and others pushing him. These are situations we should all avoid. So I separated the players."
Luis Enrique is now facing a symbolic financial penalty for assaulting the player. As it is a competition by FIFA, it should not affect other competitions in France or Europe. If FIFA were to give him a match penalty, which could be up to three matches, it would not apply until the next Club World Cup... in 2029.