Champions League
Home Fans Can Help Us Overturn Dortmund Deficit, Says Luis Enrique
Paris St Germain will be playing the return leg at home in this season’s Champions League, a situation they are not used to. Coach Luis Enrique is counting on the support of their fans to help them overcome a 1-0 semi-final deficit against Borussia Dortmund next week.
Dortmund’s Niclas Fullkrug scored a first-half goal to secure a win over PSG, despite the visitors having more possession during Wednesday’s match. PSG was unable to capitalize on their chances.
PSG defeated Barcelona in the quarter-finals and Real Sociedad in the last 16, playing the second leg away on both occasions. Luis Enrique recognizes the importance of their home fans in their fight to reach the final at Wembley on June 1.
“We saw an even match with two teams that play good football when they have the ball,” Luis Enrique told a press conference on Wednesday. “We both created many scoring chances. This time our opponents scored and we didn’t. The result reflects how close the game was”.
He stated, “In the last two rounds, they had the home game as their second game, whereas it was the other way round for us. Now it’s a different and new scenario, we’ll have the crowd on our side in the second leg. I would have liked to create the chances we have created, but you have to be effective to score. We’ll see what version we show in Paris.”
Although PSG created more chances in the second half, they suffered their first goalless defeat of the season in all competitions.
“We missed our chances in the second half,” PSG defender Achraf Hakimi told Canal+. “We knew what they were going to do, with long through balls. We were very focused, the coach repeated it all week.”
PSG have advanced from two out of their last four Champions League knockout ties despite losing the first leg, with the first instance occurring against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 in the 2019-20 season.
“We’ve come back from 1-0 down before,” added PSG captain Marquinhos. “We’ve shown that we can do it, especially at home, with the energy of our supporters, it’s going to be a different scenario. We know we can do a lot better. We just need to take our chances and be more decisive”.
He continued, “We conceded a goal that we shouldn’t have conceded, and we’ve been talking all week about these deep passes from this Borussia team. It’s the details that make all the difference, and we’re going to do better in the next game if we want to go through.”
