Champions League: with the rise of Barcelona, PSG showed that it had reached a psychological milestone
Coming back two goals behind, away and on the pitch of one of the greatest clubs in the history of football. This is what Paris Saint-Germain accomplished in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League, Tuesday April 16. Such a performance still seemed unimaginable a few months ago, especially since no French club had ever managed to achieve it before him. Champion of discomfiture and locked in this image of the nouveau riche with arrogant ambitions, the club from the capital reached a milestone in this historic evening at the Montjuïc Olympic stadium.
All the work of demystifying the Champions League and deflating this irrational pressure which was causing PSG to lose all its means, undertaken by Luis Enrique, has borne fruit. His recipe: rationality, a good dose of optimism and a touch of arrogance to act as a lightning rod. The day before the match, he promised in front of a packed press room that his team “would turn the situation around” although she has never yet managed to do so in her history at this stage of the competition.
The success of his team bears his mark. After all, he had been right in his approach to the meeting: “I think the match will be a lot like the first leg. We will do as usual: press and create superiorities when we have the ball. I think both teams will score”, he announced. By dispelling the fear of having to close a larger gap, he transmitted serenity to his players.
“Even though we lost 1-0 at the start of the match, we knew we were going to come back and win,” Ousmane Dembélé told Canal+ a few moments after the final whistle. Same story on Vitinha’s side: “We know that two goals behind is difficult, but we stayed calm”. Such comments are quite unusual for the capital club. A year ago, exasperation and the feeling of being bogged down reigned after the passive elimination on the pitch of Bayern Munich. PSG is transfigured and President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi wanted to praise his coach: “We have the best coach in the world and a real team. Tonight we showed it.”
“When you are part of professional football, the best feeling you can have is to see that your work makes people happyrejoiced Luis Enrique. This is what I want to convey to the players (…). Since the start of the season, the supporters have always been with us. They see a team that is struggling and working. Even after the first leg defeat, the supporters were there.” All that was missing was this serene atmosphere, or no longer as hot as usual, to observe a PSG in full possession of its means on the European scene.
