Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique warned his players to maintain their poise during the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Chelsea in Paris on Wednesday night.
PSG, who thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 to win the 2025 tournament, go into the home leg at the Parc des Princes on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Monaco in Ligue 1 at the same venue last Friday.
PSG setback
That setback, coupled with a win for second-placed Lens left PSG only a point clear at the summit of the French top flight championship with nine games remaining.
"We're in a crucial period of the season," said Enrique on the eve of the tie against Chelsea.
"There's really no need to talk about mentality or motivation because they're there.
"Excessive motivation is a problem," Enrique added. "That's one of the things that I've seen a lot over many years when these type of matches come around.
"That's what we'll be trying to manage."
PSG eliminated the English teams Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal on their way to the 2025 Champions League title.
Chelsea and PSG
Chelsea, though, outmanoeuvred them in the final of the inaugural Club World Cup last July with a resounding 3-0 victory at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
"It was a great match between two fantastic teams," said Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior, who in January replaced the architect of that victory Enzo Maresca.
"The Chelsea players put in an incredible performance that day but that doesn't mean anything now. The context is completely different.
"I know PSG have been coming in for some criticism lately – that's normal because when you're successful, people want to bring you down.
"All I can say is that PSG remains a world-class team, just like its manager.
Champions League: PSG boss Enrique says no resting on laurels against Monaco
Elsewhere on Wednesday night, Real Madrid host Manchester City and Arsenal travel to the Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen.
In their first appearance in the last-16, the Norwegian team Bodoe/Glimt entertain Sporting Lisbon.
In Tuesday night's first leg ties, Bayern Munich won 6-1 at Atalanta and Spain international Lamine Yamal scored a stoppage-time penalty to give Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United.
"This tie is very much alive," said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe. "We've shown we can battle with the best when we are at our best."
Tottenham Hotspur, one of six English Premier League sides in the last-16, appear to be on the way out.
The north Londoners lost 5-2 at Atletico Madrid. They were 4-0 down within the first 25 minutes.
Interim head coach Igor Tudor substituted goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who was responsible for two of the three goals, after 17 minutes.
“What happened is very rare," said Tudor. "I’ve been coaching for 15 years, I’ve never done this. It was necessary to preserve the guy, preserve the team. Incredible situation, nothing more to say.”
