Paris Saint-Germain boss makes ‘hostile’ St James’ Park claim - and pays Newcastle United ultimate compliment

Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique is expecting a “hostile” St James’ Park atmosphere when his side face Newcastle United on Wednesday night (kick-off 8pm).

The Magpies host the French champions in their second Group F fixture since returning to the Champions League. Eddie Howe’s side opened up their campaign with a goalless draw in Milan last month, while PSG beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Enrique paid the Magpies the ultimate compliment by telling reporters they were the team nobody wanted to be drawn against from Pot 4.

And the Spaniard also made reference to the St James’ Park crowd - 26 years after Enrique featured in a Barcelona side that lost 3-2 on Tyneside courtesy of Tino Asprilla’s hat-trick.

“They are the team in the fourth pot that no one wanted,” Enrique said. “We know they play at a high level. They are a complete football team and they will be playing in front of extremely passionate supporters as well.”

“I don’t think the Champions League is about consistency. You may need to that to get out of the group but once you get to the knockout stage, anything can happen. All teams can go far in the Champions League, there is no reason why Newcastle can’t either.

“No one wanted to play them because we saw how good they were last season and how they played last year. We’re coming to St James’ Park, it’s a hostile atmosphere but it’s also a spectacular place to come and play.

“It’ll be good to see what our team is made of by playing at St James’ Park. I’m envious of my players that they’re going to get to experience that first-hand now. It’s going to be a great game.”