Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique has warned his players to maintain their concentration despite going into the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash against Chelsea with a three-goal advantage.
The sides play on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge in west London for a place in the quarter-final against Liverpool or Galatasaray.
Enrique, who guided PSG to the Champions League crown last May, said on the eve of the clash that the first leg at the Parc des Princes underlined the sport's fine margins.
"Seventy minutes into the last game, it was 2-2," he recalled. "And in the final minutes, we managed to come out on top. But before that, it was tight and difficult.
"For the second leg we can’t afford to let our guard down," he added. "What we’re aiming for is to control the game, even if it’s impossible to do so completely."
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia emerged as the star of the first leg on 11 March.
The 25-year-old Georgian came off the bench just after the hour mark and set up Vitinha for PSG's third goal after 74 minutes.
Kvaratskhelia added his side's fourth and fifth goals to propel them to the brink of the last eight of European club football's most prestigious competition.
"There will be difficulties and struggles during the second leg," Enrique added. "And we’ll have to know how to handle that."
Champions League: PSG boss Enrique calls for cool heads in Chelsea clash
Chelsea warmed up for the Champions League game with a 1-0 loss to Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior confirmed on Monday night that skipper Reece James will miss the clash against PSG.
"He felt something in his hamstring at the end of the game against Newcastle," said Rosenior.
"It's really frustrating and a disappointing one for us. We don't know the full extent but it rules him out."
Graham Potter was the last Chelsea boss to steer the side to the last eight in 2023. Since then Mauricio Pochettino and Enzo Maresca have held the reins.
Rosenior, who spent two years at the Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg, took over in January.
"We have an opportunity to do something really special," said Rosenior. "Hopefully, we can turn around what is a difficult scoreline but not an impossible one. We have to remember PSG are European champions for a reason, but we have shown we can compete."
In other second leg games on Tuesday night, Arsenal start at 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid take a 3-0 lead to Manchester City.
The Norwegian outfit Bodoe/Glimt, who are playing in the last-16 for the first time, travel to Sporting Portugal with a 3-0 advantage.
