Vitinha, the 25-year-old midfielder of Paris Saint-Germain, spoke to the media after the 2-1 victory against FC Barcelona on Wednesday at the Montjuïc Stadium, during the second matchday of the 2025-2026 Champions League. He expressed his pride in this resilient team and offered a clear response to Pedri’s (the 22-year-old Barça midfielder) pre-match statement that his team was better.
Vitinha: “I am proud of this team, really.”
How do you explain that this team never doubts itself and always manages to come back from difficult situations, with great second-half performances?
Yes, it’s incredible. And I am proud of this team, really. We’ve turned around the result several times, but this time we had five starters missing, and the academy players performed very well, making a great impact. The players who usually get fewer minutes gave a great response.
We were trailing away from home against one of the best teams, and even then, we managed to have that second-half performance, turning the match around. It’s a great statement from our team. Once again, I want to thank all my teammates. I am really proud of this team.
Vitinha: “We don’t care about that.”
Pedri said before the match that Barça is a better team than PSG?
It happens sometimes, people make statements. We don’t care about that. We want to win the match, and we are happy with that.
Was it an achievement to win today?
No, not an achievement. We are always capable of winning, anywhere. But there is a context. We were trailing, away from home, it’s possible to give up. It happens. But we did the opposite, that’s strong. It’s not easy to do. I want to thank and congratulate the whole team.
What’s the secret? We have a very strong team, and our coach is also very strong. He helps us a lot; he tells us that we are capable. And when you do it once, twice, three times, you really start to feel that you are capable. Even if it’s not easy. We made a big statement here.
