Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has urged his side to be brave in Tuesday's Champions League clash at Bayern Munich, admitting their stuttering start leaves no room for error.
PSG are languishing just under the play-off section of the Champions League standings in 25th, having won one, drawn one and lost two of their four matches to date. Bayern are 17th with two wins and two losses.
The difficult start to the campaign has made things more challenging for the Ligue 1 leaders, Luis Enrique said at his pre-match press conference on Monday.
"It's obvious that after four matches, including three at the Parc des Princes, with fair or unfair results, unfair for me, we have to have good results to qualify," he said.
"We made things difficult for ourselves. Football is what it is. You have to score.
"We will give it our all, we will be brave, we will take risks, as we usually do."
Bayern have won their last three games against PSG in the Champions League, with the French side failing to score in each of those matches.
Luis Enrique accepts it will be a tough match and that his side need to perform above and beyond.
"It is very clear that we are two teams that are similar. We want to have the ball, we press very high... we have similar statistics," he said.
"We are among the best teams with goal chances, but there will only be one ball. And so one team will have to suffer. Them, or us.
"We'll probably have to go further against Bayern. Run more, raise the level, especially against Bayern at home."
Fonseca urges focus as Milan face bottom-placed Bratislava
Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has urged his players not to underestimate the challenge posed by Slovan Bratislava in Tuesday's Champions League match, even though the Slovakian side are bottom of the standings after losing four straight games.
Slovan Bratislava have yet to earn a point and have a minus-13 goal difference, while Milan are 20th with six points and within the play-off section.
"Am I at risk of underestimating tomorrow’s match? I expect that won’t happen. Today we talked about the importance of winning tomorrow. We mustn’t look at their history," Fonseca told a press conference on Monday.
"We must think that tomorrow we are playing at their home. It will be important to have the right attitude."
Fonseca added that his side often perform better against teams that on paper appear stronger than them, such as their 3-1 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the previous Champions League matchweek.
"What I know is that against the big teams we have done well and that [we have] done less well against the small teams," Fonseca said.
"We work to be a team with the attitude and ambitions shown against the big teams. We work to always be the same team.
"The Champions League is the Champions League. Everyone likes to be in these games, the motivation is greater. I expect them to be able to play the Champions League tomorrow with this motivation."
Milan faced criticism following their dull 0-0 draw with Juventus at the weekend, with Fonseca admitting his side fell short of their best.
"We are aware of what we did well and what we did less well. We did several things less well," Fonseca said.
"The problem is that the dimension of things in Milan seems different to me: a draw with Juve for us is a defeat, for others a victory."
Simeone: New Champions League format more difficult
The Champions League's new format is more difficult than its predecessor was, Diego Simeone said ahead of Atletico Madrid's trip to Sparta Prague.
Each of the 36 teams in Europe's premier club competition must play eight group-phase games, with the top eight sides qualifying for the last 16 and the next 16 in the standings taking part in playoffs to decide who joins them.
At the halfway point in the first phase, Atleti are a lowly 23rd with six points, two points and three places above Tuesday's opponents.
The likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain also find themselves 17th or lower, while surprise packages Sporting CP, Monaco, Brest and Aston Villa are flying high in the top eight.
Simeone believes the change in format has had a major effect this season, with the Opta supercomputer now giving his team a 55% chance of reaching the last 16 and just a 1% probability of lifting the trophy.
"From what the results are showing us, and what happens in the games, I understand that this format invites everyone to pay even more attention," Simeone said on Monday.
"Once we move forward and this first experience is over, we will have a clearer idea of what we really think.
"They always put pressure on you to win. That happened before too, but now it is a league where everyone plays against everyone, and it is not easy for anyone."
Atletico boosted their hopes of avoiding elimination as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain on matchday four, courtesy of a last-gasp goal from Angel Correa.
"The Champions League demands the most from you. It forces you to win," said Simeone, who celebrated his 700th game as Atletico head coach last weekend.
Sparta, currently fourth in the Czech First League, have failed to win in six of their last seven matches in all competitions, but Simeone does not expect a routine outing.
"They're tough opponents. At home they have a fast pace," Simeone added. "I can't imagine any other situation than taking this game to where we think we can do some damage.
"It often happens that all teams, at home and at the start of games, show intensity and strength.
"It's logical as they are with their fans. You have to adapt to the pace of that start. We're away from home and the opponent will push very hard."
Aguero: 'Not wise' to rule Man City out of title race yet
Sergio Aguero insists it is "not wise" to rule out the prospect of Manchester City catching Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
Liverpool opened up an eight-point gap at the summit on Sunday with a 3-2 win over Southampton, a day on from City's humiliating 4-0 home loss to Tottenham.
It marks the second-biggest lead by a team at the top after 12 matches of a Premier League campaign, bettered only by Manchester United's nine-point advantage in 1993-94.
However, City have previously made up ground when trailing Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to win the title – the latter by 10 points in 2018-19.
And Aguero, a five-time Premier League title winner with City, has warned Liverpool that history could yet repeat itself this season.
"Pundits are always quick to call the race and my response is always the same: it ain't over until it's over," he told Stake.com.
"The current point advantage may be insignificant by the end of the season. We've seen that happen frequently.
"The 2011-12 season had us eight points below United and we took that trophy."
City are the first reigning English top-flight champions to lose five games in a row in all competitions since Chelsea in March 1956.
Three of those losses have come in the Premier League, which Opta's supercomputer now gives Pep Guardiola's side just a 15.4% chance of winning.
That compares to 76% for Liverpool, but those percentages could swing drastically should City pick up three points at Anfield when the sides face off next weekend.
"Beating Liverpool will certainly help," Aguero said. "But it's not wise to make such sweeping statements when the tournament still has a long way to go."
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