The euphoria of a qualification can sometimes cause the sense of measure to lose. Tuesday evening, at the end of a quarter-final return to Villa Park, Paris Saint-Germain validated its ticket for the semi-finals of the Champions League despite a 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa. Thanks to their 3-1 victory at the Parc des Princes, the Parisians get out of it with a cumulative score of 5-4. But the scenario almost turned into a disaster, as Luis Enrique's men were jostled in the second half.
Luis Enrique dares a lunar declaration after the galley of Villa Park
And yet, at the final whistle, the Spanish coach did not retain his words. “I think I have the best workforce in the world, not just the best goalkeeper”, he launched. A daring statement to say the least after a halftone performance where PSG conceded three goals and touched the exit. The former spain coach still praised the importance of Gianluigi Donnarumma in this success: “When you're in a club like PSG, we have a lot of quality players”, he tempered.
“Best workforce in the world”: Enrique doubts anything!
This triumphant discourse may well surprise, even annoy. Because if Paris advances, he did it in pain. On several occasions, the team seemed close to the break. Lack of defensive rigor, guilty release after the opening of the score, technical errors: there is no shortage of reasons. “We still have to improve a lot”conceded Enrique, without denying the displayed enthusiasm.
A lucid, but ambitious PSG cloakroom
On the cloakroom side, the tone was to the confidence found. Achraf Hakimi underlined the collective momentum : “We want to show that PSG is a big club. We want to fight for all possible titles. »»
A positive discourse, certainly, but which will have to be accompanied by rigor if Paris wants to overcome the obstacle of the semi-finals.
At the dawn of a new European challenge, the Parisian coach takes the bet to galvanize his troops. It remains to be seen whether these words will resist the field test.
