Achraf Hakimi, Paris Saint-Germain’s 26-year-old right-sided piston, stopped off in the mixed zone after Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa (Aston Villa/PSG video highlights) at Villa Park in the second leg of the Champions League 2024-2025 quarter-finals (3-1 first leg, 4-5 aggregate). He spoke about the complicated qualification process and the semi-final against Arsenal or Real Madrid.
Hakimi “We know that to win the Champions League, you have to suffer.”
Were you scared?
No, we weren’t scared. We knew from the start that it would be a match to suffer. We suffered a little because of ourselves. But we’re pleased with the team’s reaction. We know that to win the Champions League, you have to suffer.
A second consecutive semi-final is good news.
Yes, I think it shows how hard PSG are working. We’ve changed a lot since the coach came in. It shows in the results, and we’re delighted to be playing in a second semi-final in a row.
Hakimi “We need to improve, we have time for that and we’ll talk about it.”
Dembélé was unhappy, mentioning slackness and a lack of seriousness?
I agree. After the first half, it’s not possible for a team like us, who want to win the Champions League, to start the 2nd half with two goals like that. We need to take more responsibility. We’ve got time to improve and we’re going to talk about it.
A dry spell?
It’s true that it wasn’t easy, but we’re happy. Our mission was to qualify and we’re happy with that.
Can this match be useful for the future?
I think so. There are things we had to keep doing, which we did well, and other things we need to improve. With the two goals we scored so quickly, we need to improve. We need to learn from that for the future.
Hakimi “Honestly, we don’t care”
A great match from Donnarumma?
We know what kind of goalkeeper we’ve got, and he showed it again. Some people doubted him, but we never did. We know he’s one of the best in the world, and we hope he’ll stay with us for several more years. We’re very happy for him and his game. He helped us a lot.
Real Madrid or Arsenal?
Honestly, who cares? To win, you have to play against the best. Both are great teams. We’ll see, we’re ready.
