Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique had a high opinion of his players as they began their Champions League title defense with a 4-0 rout of Atalanta on Wednesday.
For the second straight home game he observed the first half from up in the stands rather than down on the sideline, having done so against Lens in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
"I'm doing the same thing I did in the last match because, from above, I get a lot of information that I can use at halftime," Luis Enrique told broadcaster Canal Plus before the kickoff against Atalanta. "Having more information is important for me."
Luis Enrique came back down to patrol the touchline for the second half against Atalanta, his left arm in a sling after breaking his collarbone in a recent cycling accident.
In his pre-match news conference, he explained the reason behind his new approach: it helps him take a step back and view things in perhaps a more detached and objective way. Rugby coaches use this method, whereby they are up in the stands rather than by the field.
"It's very different watching the game sitting down. My halftime talk against Lens was totally different because I was up there. I saw things to improve, some mistakes," he said. "I've thought for a long time how we can add something to our way of doing things, and I'm always open to anything that can improve our performance."
Luis Enrique is one of few coaches to have won Europe's elite club competition with different clubs, having guided a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona to glory in 2015.
Next up for PSG? A trip to Barcelona on Oct. 1.
"With the quality of our players there are no surprises," he said. "We just need to improve certain things."
Atalanta coach Ivan Jurić didn't see much for PSG to improve on, however.
"We can't be too disappointed in ourselves because they're a really incredible side," he said. "We did really well in the first 10 minutes, but then it became difficult."