PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique joked that picking his team against Bayern Munich will be like a “lottery” because he finally has a full-strength squad to choose from.
That means midfielder Vitinha could start against the six-time champion in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal in Paris on Wednesday. He missed the last two Ligue 1 games with a right heel injury sustained during a 2-1 loss to Lyon.
“It'll be a lottery. Everyone’s ready,” Luis Enrique said Tuesday at a pregame news conference. “But be warned, we'll need all the players who are apt to play, and on that point I think we’re more than ready.”
With so many players pushing for places, rather than recovering from injury like earlier in the season, Luis Enrique was faced with a new task.
“It’s all about calming everyone down,” he said.
Vitinha's presence alongside João Neves and the returning Fabián Ruiz is crucial in a contest pitting arguably the two best midfields in the competition.
Bayern boasts physicality, tactical assuredness and slick passing with Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Leon Goretzka, allied to the goals and assists of right wing Michael Olise and the prolific scoring of burly striker Harry Kane. On the left wing is Luis Díaz, who scored both goals when Bayern won 2-1 in Paris in the league stage in November.
Holding midfield is key to stopping Bayern dictating the game like it did in the quarterfinals against Real Madrid, and against PSG last time they met.
Vitinha has been in sterling form and is on course for his best season in terms of goals, with seven so far, having scored nine for PSG two seasons ago. He was third in the men's Ballon d'Or vote last year.
PSG is appearing in its third straight semifinal and faces a Bayern side which has not lost in any competition since Jan. 24 and scored 19 goals in the past five games.
“With two teams who attack so well the key will be defense,” Luis Enrique said. “Defensive statistics also matter, and these are the two best teams in Europe in that respect as well. In terms of consistency, Bayern are slightly ahead of us.”
PSG was sloppy at the back against Bayern in November, and a frustrated Luis Enrique criticized his players after that game.
But when PSG failed to qualify in the top eight teams and directly reach the last 16, Luis Enrique boldly predicted his team would come good later in the competition.
In an upbeat mood, he reminded journalists of that.
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PSG's head coach Luis Enrique reacts during the French League One soccer match between Angers and Paris Saint-Germain in Angers, western France, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mathieu Pattier)
Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha during a training sessionin Liverpool, England, Monday April 13, 2026, one day ahead of their Champions League soccer match against Liverpool. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique reacts during the French League One soccer match between Angers and Paris Saint-Germain in Angers, western France, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mathieu Pattier)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market’s record-breaking rally is slowing on Monday after uncertainty rose over the weekend about what will happen next in the Iran war, while oil prices are rising.
The S&P 500 edged down by less than 0.1%, coming off its latest all-time high driven by strong profit reports from U.S. companies and hopes that the United States and Iran can avoid a worst-case scenario for the economy because of their war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 86 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq was 0.3% lower after setting its own record.
The moves were stronger in the oil market, where prices climbed more than 1.5% as tankers still find the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed. That’s keeping crude stuck in the Middle East and away from customers worldwide, including crude produced by Iran that’s being blockaded by the U.S. Navy.
Iran has offered to reopen the strait if the United States ends its blockade, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear program would come in a later phase. But U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan.
Over the weekend, Trump told U.S. envoys not to go to Pakistan, which has been playing a crucial mediating role. By saying the Iranians could call Washington with any proposal, Trump appeared to signal he’s content to try to continue to squeeze Iran with the blockade.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in June climbed 1.7% to $107.09. Brent to be delivered in July, which is where more of the trading is happening in the oil market, rose 1.7% to $100.90 per barrel.
Brent prices were at only roughly $70 per barrel before the war and have briefly shot above $119 a couple times when fear about the war have hit their heights.
Most big U.S. companies have nevertheless been reporting profits for the start of 2026 that have topped analysts’ expectations. That’s helped the S&P 500 jump more than 12% since hitting a low in late March.
Verizon Communications joined the list, and its stock climbed 3.6% after the company said it added more postpaid phone customers than it lost during a first quarter for the first time since 2013. It also raised its forecast for profit growth this year, even though its revenue for the first quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations.
Domino’s Pizza helped drag on the market and fell 7.7% after it reported weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
Several of Wall Street’s most influential stocks are scheduled to deliver their profit reports this week, including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft all on Wednesday. Apple will report on Thursday.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively even with the rise in oil prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note inched up to 4.32% from 4.31% late Friday.
The Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates Wednesday, and the consensus expectation among traders is that it will hold rates steady. Lower rates would help give the economy a boost, but they would also threaten to worsen inflation when oil prices are in flux and tariffs are also threatening to raise prices.
Wednesday will likely be the final meeting where Chair Jerome Powell will lead the Fed. His term as chair is scheduled to expire next month, and Trump has already named his nominee to replace Powell, Kevin Warsh.
The European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Bank of England will likewise be announcing rate decisions this week.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.2%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4% for two of the world’s bigger moves.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Trader Thomas Ferrigno, left, and specialist Dilip Patel work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Trader Justin Flinn works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), rear center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, rear left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Options trader Matthew Hefter, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
