PSG had to react after the rout of the first leg (3-2). And the Parisians did it. After their resounding victory in the quarter-final return (1-4), the capital club secured the fourth semi-final in its history in the Champions League. And that was worth some very strong words from Nasser Al-Khelaïfi.
“It’s magnificent, it’s a historic moment for the club. I was confident before the first leg, before the second leg, even after the first goal tonight. Everyone fought together,” he enthused at Canal+. The boss of PSG was even rave about a high-level collective performance according to him: “I saw something that I haven’t seen for 13 years: everyone was together, everyone was together. fought for each other. Everyone wanted to win and qualify for the semi-final.”
Luis Enrique, “an incredible coach”
So gone is the era of Messi-Neymar and stars galore who are not concerned, and make way for a man at the center of the debates: Luis Enrique. Hailed as “the best coach in the world” by Al-Khelaïfi, the Spanish technician also received the praise of Ousmane Dembélé, scorer twice in this double confrontation against his former club. “We knew we were going to score goals here. We worked tactically, the coach’s tactics were perfect,” pointed out the French striker.
“We have the best fans in the world […] Paris plays for France, we are proud of that!” 🗣
Nasser al-Khelaïfi’s first words after PSG qualified 💬#FCBPSG | #UCL pic.twitter.com/8sq0wqtd5B
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) April 16, 2024
Before Vitinha, also a double scorer against FC Barcelona in both matches, did it again. “He brings us a lot in terms of tactics, in the head. It’s important the way he makes us believe that everything will turn out our way. He has a lot of merit, it must be said: he is an incredible coach,” insisted the Portuguese midfielder, once again beaming on both sides of the pitch.
Dortmund, “a great chance”
Luis Enrique obviously congratulated the work of his men. “We showed what we wanted to do here, we conceded a goal but we remained intact in the will to play, in the mentality, we continued to attack. Everything changed from the red card. It was more complicated for them, but the players showed a lot of enthusiasm, desire, character to win,” said the PSG coach, before complimenting Vitinha in return. “Mbappé was a leader from start to finish but I would especially like to talk about Vitinha. He fought, he showed quality on the last pass,” he explained.
All these men now have an appointment in the semi-final against Borussia Dortmund, an opponent within reach of the Parisians who represents “a great chance” according to Ousmane Dembélé. You will still have to be careful of the Yellow Wall in a lair of Signal Iduna Park which is often indomitable. For this, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is counting on the Parisian supporters, once again very noisy even in Spain: “We have the best supporters in the world. We played here as if we were at the Park! »
