Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 against Bayern Munich and qualified (5-6 on aggregate, Bayern/PSG summary) this Wednesday at the Allianz Arena for the second leg of their 2025-2026 Champions League semi-final (final on May 30 against Arsenal). After this qualification, PSG defender and captain Marquinhos (31 years old) spoke to CBS Sports Golazo.
Marquinhos: “They pushed hard, we deserve to qualify.”
Reaching the final again, you were here last year, what are your feelings?
It’s incredible. I enjoyed it fully, we played against one of the best teams of the year. We did what we had to do. They pushed hard, we deserve to qualify. This is my third final, I’m very proud. We have to prepare well, we have the upcoming league season before thinking about the final.
Marquinhos: “It’s the mentality instilled by the coach, that’s what’s gotten us to the final.”
Did PSG seem different defensively?
We knew they were going to push forward, that we had to control the game. The key was defensively. Even the forwards defended a lot, they helped out. It’s the mentality instilled by the coach, that’s what’s gotten us to the final. We have to keep going like this. Sometimes you have to adapt. We often have more control, but sometimes we have to defend more. And we also have a great team to counter-attack.
Marquinhos: “We’re a very difficult team to play against.”
Is this the best team you’ve played for?
I’m very proud to be on this team, but I can’t forget my former teammates, great players like Zlatan, Neymar, Messi, Mbappé, Thiago Silva… It’s very difficult to compare. But it’s certain that this is the team that has accomplished the most, with the final last year and this one. We are a very difficult team to play against.
