“Nuno Mendes is a fighter plane, he made me suffer with Portugal” – PSG boss Luis Enrique
Nuno Mendes has firmly established himself as one of the best left-backs in Europe this season, putting previous injury issues behind him to star for Paris Saint-Germain in their run to the Champions League semi-finals.
As PSG prepare to take on English giants Arsenal later this month, their manager Luis Enrique has been lavishing praise on former Sporting left-back Mendes, who has been a pivotal figure at both ends of the field for the Ligue 1 champions.
Mendes was widely praised for his defensive performance against Mohamed Salah across two legs as PSG eliminated Liverpool in the last-16. Aston Villa were next up in the quarter finals; this time Mendes caught the eye with a goal at Villa Park as his team progressed 5-4 on aggregate to set up a tie with Arsenal.
It was not all plain sailing for Mendes, whose loss of possession led to one of Villa’s goals. However, when the issue of such mistakes was raised to PSG boss Luis Enrique on Monday, the Spaniard was quick to issue glowing praise of 22-year-old star Mendes.
“We analyse what all the players do, they all make mistakes,” he said. “It all depends on what we decide to observe, the positive or the negative. I think Nuno Mendes is a fighter plane, both in attack and defence.
“I like players with this mentality, this personality. Whatever the game, he is always ready, at the highest level, at 100%. Name me a player who never makes a mistake, who never has a bad day, who doesn’t get dizzy sometimes.
“I already knew him before I came here, he made me suffer during the Spain-Portugal Nations League match. He is a unique player. He is capable of attacking, of making the final pass, of scoring.
“He is capable of defending against one of the best players in the world. He has hardly been beaten in any action. If you look for an action in which a player made a mistake, you will find it, for any player in the world. Nuno Mendes’ mentality and his performance this season and since I have been here is remarkable.”
By @SeanGillen9