Fear gave way to an explosion of joy. “What an incredible scenario”, sums up Henrique, Mbappé jersey on the back in front of the hotel for the PSG players. For at least six more days, Thomas Tuchel’s workforce will remain housed in Lisbon (Portugal). All thanks to a crazy reversal of the situation in the quarterfinals against Atalanta Bergamo this Wednesday evening (2-1). So they couldn’t miss it: nearly 200 fans gathered at the foot of the huge Myriad, on the banks of the Tagus.
“We are happy, we are proud,” smiles Jean-Claude, member of the Ultras Paris collective, with dual Franco-Portuguese nationality. For once, they had the courage to come back to the score. In the 85th, I saw the story start again. Fortunately, Choupo-Moting has arrived. I think we’ll win it, it’s really the right one. Atlético in the semi-final and Bayern Munich in the final ”.
The future will prove this early fan right or wrong. In the meantime, Paris has managed to afford a magnificent birthday present on the evening of its 50th birthday. Something to move everyone. “We cried,” says Henrique. We are too happy. We were in the minority in the bar, among Italians. This kind of situation is great. I believed in it until the end. They showed us that this is football. I hope we can go to the end, we have the team for. I am here to support them, as always ”.
“The relief is terrible, continues José, accompanied by his two sons. It is truly an event to be here even without being at the stadium. The entries from Mbappé, Choupo-Moting… They were decisive ”. The 200 fans in front of the Paris hotel were able to shout their love for the club around 11:45 p.m. local time (Editor’s note: one more hour in France), when the sirens of the police escort sounded. Howls and chants greeted the evening heroes. And two smoke bombs lit the Lisbon night in red.
Strict health regulations imposed on players prevent them from getting too close to the public. But the smiles were very present on the faces of Kimpembe or Neymar, once again the most applauded by the fans. On the forecourt of their hotel, the Parisians ended up gathering and jumping for a few minutes before returning to celebrate this success in a more intimate way. The evening ended calmly and with a last song for the decisive scorer of the meeting, Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, who should remember this moment for a long time.
