Ousmane Dembele has surprisingly claimed he 'loves' Barcelona despite incessant booing during his Champions League return with PSG.
Dembele, who left Barcelona last summer, played a vital role in Paris Saint-Germain's remarkable comeback on Spanish soil by scoring just before half-time after Raphinha's early opener in the second leg quarter-finals on Tuesday evening. At the end of an eventful evening, Mbappé scored a fourth goal late in the match to complete a memorable comeback and seal his team's qualification for the quarter-finals.
The Barcelona fans did their best to destabilize Dembele, booing him every time he was on the pitch, even though he played a vital role in the progress of the match, having been deployed on the right side by Luis Enrique.
“I love Barcelona”
Asked about the reception from Barcelona supporters, Dembele replied: “The welcome given to me? I experienced it very well because I already experienced it in 2021 by being whistled here in Barcelona. I'm not going to change my game for whistles. I stayed focused. I gave everything. Barça is a big club. I love Barcelona…and I understand the whistles. That's life. » Dembele insisted his teammates were confident they could turn things around in Spain, despite losing the first leg at the Parc des Princes.
“ Everyone believed in our qualification, even though we lost the first leg 3-2.”did he declare. “We didn't give up, we knew we were going to score goals here. It's a big change from the whole team. We worked all week, tactically, with the coach. His tactics were perfect. Even though we conceded the first goal, we didn't give up. We continued to believe it. » Thanks to this victory, Paris Saint-Germain, who have still not won the Champions League, will face Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final, who eliminated Atlético Madrid after a suspenseful match.
Dembele was optimistic ahead of the semi-finals: “ It's a big thing. The last time we were in the semi-final we made it to the final, and we're crossing our fingers that we do the same this year and go to Wembley. We need to recover in time to face Lyon at the weekend, then we'll look ahead to the semi-final. »
