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, Parisian coach Luis Enrique spoke to PSG TV.
Enrique “We’re happy, we’re in the semi-finals”.
“In the second half we suffered, it was very difficult But I think we have to be ready for this, our team, our players and our fans. And I’d like to thank them, they’re with us, supporting us every day. We’re delighted to be in the semi-finals for the second year running. I think that’s a very good thing.”
Enrique “I think we need to rest and analyse the match clearly”.
“The second half was a very difficult moment. It was emotionally complicated, we conceded two goals in three minutes, and that moment could have eliminated us. Now I think we need to rest and analyse the game clearly. And we need to improve a few aspects of the game. But I’m very happy!”
It was a difficult encounter for PSG, who nevertheless had the upper hand in the match and in qualification. It was hard to imagine after the first 25 minutes of this second leg that the Parisians would have to rely on their goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to qualify.
This defeat may well be a lesson for the Parisian team, who slackened off completely and suffered the consequences. The good news is that PSG will be hosting the second leg of their semi-final.
But this is the Champions League, and the Parisian players saw on Tuesday that the slightest slackening can completely change the course of a match and qualification. Now it’s time to focus on what’s next, and in particular Ligue 1, because despite winning the title, PSG need to continue their unbeaten run and, above all, get back to qualifying.
