Luis Enrique believes keeping the ball away from Lamine Yamal will prove crucial if Paris Saint-Germain are to get anything out of their blockbuster clash with Barcelona. In what has been dubbed as the standout tie of the league phase of this year's Champions League, PSG and Barcelona lock horns at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday. Both teams have enjoyed strong starts to their respective campaigns, with Hansi Flick's side winning all nine of their opening LaLiga fixtures to sit five points clear at the top. They are the first team to do so since Real Madrid in 1968-69, while their 39 goals are the second-most by a team after their first nine matches in LaLiga, after the Sevilla team of 1940-41 plundered 42 goals. And key to their early-season form has been Yamal, who has been tipped to challenge Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Madrid's Kylian Mbappe for the Ballon d'Or this year. Yamal grabbed a goal and an assist during Barcelona's 5-2 win away at Real Betis on Saturday, taking his tally to 19 goal involvements (nine goals, 10 assists) across all competitions in 2026-27, more than any other player from Europe's top five leagues. The 19-year-old has already been involved in five goals in two Champions League appearances in 2026-27 (one goal, four assists), assisting two goals in each game.He's the youngest player to assist 2+ goals in consecutive appearances (19 years, 92 days), while Raul in 2002 is the only player in Champions League history to assist 2+ goals in three games in a row. And in his pre-match press conference, Luis Enrique acknowledged the threat Yamal will pose to his PSG team. "The best way to stop Lamine Yamal is to keep the ball away from Barcelona," Luis Enrique told reporters. "If he cannot get the ball, everything is calm. That would be ideal, but we know it won't be the case because it is difficult to play against Barcelona and Lamine Yamal."The way to defend a team with their quality is to be wary and approach it as a team. But it's not just Lamine. There's Raphinha, Pedri. There are a lot of top players."The PSG boss did, however, push back on comparisons between Yamal and Lionel Messi, which have been a frequent occurrence since he made his debut for Barca in 2023. "I think Lamine wants to be Lamine, and he is doing very well," Luis Enrique added. "He is improving in every aspect of his game, but if you compare him with the best player ever, there will only be one winner."Maybe we can speak in the future about that, but right now, it is best not to compare him with Messi."This will be the 17th time that PSG have faced Barcelona (W6 D4 L6), which will be the joint-most games they have played against an opponent in major European competitions (also 17 v Bayern Munich – W7 D1 L9), and Tuesday's clash could be one to remember. Of all fixtures played 10+ times in European Cup or Champions League history, only Ajax versus Bayern (3.9) has a higher goals-per-game ratio than PSG versus Barcelona (3.8 – 57 goals in 15 meetings).Flick's side have scored 4+ goals in four consecutive games in the league or group phase of this competition, the longest-ever run by a team in the European Cup or Champions League, while PSG are unbeaten in their last 12 games in the tournament (W8 D4). "I'm focusing on their quality. I've played for and managed Barca, and I have a very close relationship with Catalonia," Luis Enrique said of Barcelona, who he managed between 2014 and 2017 and won the Champions League with in 2014-15. "I'm very attached to Barca, but I'm PSG's manager. Initially, I struggled to play against Barca, but I've got used to it. They have top-quality players and a team with values."Despite that, I want to win tomorrow. It's a huge source of motivation for me to face the club that has mattered the most to me in my career."The Spaniard was also asked whether the eagerly-anticipated clash was like the final had come early, to which he responded: "No, because this competition gives us the chance to play this kind of game [in the league phase]."When we think about the rest of the competition, we're among the favourites, but there are several teams that can win it."