7 hours ago
3
PSG manager Luis Enrique has taken aim at the quality of the pitches at the Club World Cup following the European champions qualification to the round of 16.
The French side beat Seattle Sounders on Monday to top Group B and send Atletico Madrid crashing out of the controversial competition.
Enrique's side will now take on former PSG forward Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami side in the knockout stages, but the Spaniard was far from happy following the comfortable 2-0 victory over the Sounders.
Following the match, which was played at Seattle's home stadium, Lumen Field, Enrique shared his anger at the standard of the pitch.
'I wouldn't imagine an NBA court full of holes,' said the 55-year-old. 'What I really care about is the state of the field of play, and I say this on the day we've won.
'The ball bounces almost like if it were jumping around like a rabbit.'
Luis Enrique has taken aim at FIFA for the poor quality of the pitches at the Club World Cup
PSG took on Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field on a pitch which Enrique claims saw the ball bounce 'around like a rabbit'
The playing surface did not inhibit PSG too much though as they beat Seattle 2-0
Enrique guided PSG to their first-ever Champions League triumph last month as his players put on a clinic to record a record final victory over Inter Milan in Munich.
However, the former Barcelona boss has now suggested that his team has to play differently in the United States due to the low quality of playing surfaces in stadiums and in training.
He continued: 'Lumen Field is an example. It used to be artificial turf and now it is natural grass and they have to water it by hand - they did so at half-time but the field was dry again in 10 minutes.
'For our game, this is a problem. It's very different from European pitches. The grass is different and therefore, it is not so easy to have the same smoothness to play our style - but we did adapt well and we're very happy.'
Enrique is not the only person to have criticised the pitches at the Club World Cup with Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham also commenting on the situation on the same night.
After scoring in Los Blancos' 3-1 win over Pachuca, which secured Xabi Alonso his first victory as head coach, Bellingham revealed just how the surfaces in the US have taken a toll on his body.
‘The pitches aren’t great at all,' Bellingham admitted. 'It holds the ball up. The ball barely bounces. It’s tough on the knees as well. Hopefully, it’s something that someone will look at, going into next year.
'It’s important we protect the players as well as giving the fans a great spectacle and giving them great games like today.'
By topping Group B PSG have been rewarded with a date with Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in the last 16
Jude Bellingham also criticised the pitch after scoring in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Pachuca
Bellingham was featuring in his 61st game of what has been a longer-than-usual campaign, and while he intends to make that 66 by the end of the Club World Cup, he also can’t wait to have shoulder surgery after the tournament.
The England midfielder currently plays large with a brace on his shoulder in order to get himself through matches unscathed.
However, now he wants his ‘old body back’ and has now ‘ran out of patience’ over what has been an ongoing problem over the past year.
‘Yeah, yeah, I'm definitely feeling it (the fatigue),’ Bellingham told Mail Sport. ‘With the new kits, new managers, and new players coming, it probably kids you into thinking it’s a new season.
'But you’ve already got 50 to 60 games in your legs and in this heat, you can definitely feel it. But the way I and the team are approaching it is that it’s five more games of graft and everything we’ve got to try and bring home another title.'
