After three straight penalty misses, Luis Enrique says PSG lack a specialist

“We’re missing a specialist,” Luis Enrique admitted after PSG’s 3-1 win at Strasbourg in Ligue 1. The Paris club had missed a penalty for the third time in three matches, extending the run on Saturday after failed attempts the previous weekend and on Wednesday. The coach was asked about the repeated misses after the match, despite Paris taking the victory.

The three failures involved three different Paris players. The first came against Le Mans last Saturday, the next against Manchester City on Wednesday, and the latest away to Strasbourg. Paris have scored one penalty this season but missed their three most recent attempts. Dembélé’s miss at Strasbourg therefore extended PSG’s poor run from the spot.

Luis Enrique contrasted that record with his side’s performance in penalty shootouts: they have won their last five, including against Arsenal in the 2025-2026 Champions League final. Shootouts, however, are a different exercise from penalties taken during a match, where PSG have now missed three in a row.

“It’s true, we have a statistic that’s a little difficult to judge. But whenever we’ve played in a final, we’ve had quality takers. We have a lot of players who can take them, but it’s true that we’re missing a specialist,” Luis Enrique said. He also named Vitinha and Ousmane among the players capable of taking penalties.

The win at Strasbourg came with Paris four points ahead of their opponents in the standings. The Paris side are sixth on 11 points after six matches, while Strasbourg are 12th with seven points from seven games. Paris have three wins, two draws and one defeat; Strasbourg have two wins, one draw and four defeats.

The teams’ attacking and defensive figures also differ: Paris have scored eight goals and conceded four, compared with Strasbourg’s 12 scored and 15 conceded. At home, Strasbourg have one win, one draw and one defeat in three matches, scoring four and conceding five. Paris, meanwhile, are unbeaten at home after three games, with two wins and a draw, five goals scored and one conceded. Away from home, each side has played three matches: Paris have one win, one draw and one defeat, while Strasbourg have one win and three defeats from four away games.