Paris Saint-Germain travelled to face Aston Villa in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday (3-2, 4-5 aggregate Aston Villa/PSG video highlights). On the sidelines of this nerve-wracking qualifier, Achraf Hakimi, the 26-year-old full-back, spoke to PSG TV.
Hakimi “we didn’t want to suffer the way we did”.
“The first feeling is that we’re happy. Everyone can be, all Parisians. We did what we needed to do to qualify. We didn’t win, but we qualified. That’s what we wanted to achieve. But we didn’t want to suffer like we did.”
Hakimi “We need to keep working, there are still a lot of matches left”
“We need matches like this, matches where we suffer. There are no easy matches in this competition, and today we suffered. We’ve got to keep working, there are still a lot of matches to go, and we can’t afford to drop our rhythm.
Our supporters are there all the time. We’d like to thank them, those who have come, they support us every step of the way, and those in Paris too. We’re happy to have them. We’ve got to keep going like this, and thanks again!”
What a match for PSG, who had total control over their opponents and a firm grip on qualification, and who went down to defeat against a team that had risen from the dead.
This defeat may also be a lesson for the Parisians, who need to gain in experience. It’s not normal to reach the quarter-finals and then slack off, as the Parisians did on Tuesday.
But it’s also important to highlight the big performances, and that of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was once again decisive. As in the penalty shoot-out against Liverpool in the previous round.
Despite this difficult match, PSG are through to the semi-finals, where they will host the second leg, and Luis Enrique’s men continue their European journey with a lesson to learn.
