Luis Enrique vows ‘to fight war’ in second leg
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said he is still confident his team can overcome a 3-2 home loss to Barcelona in their Champions League quarterfinal and shine against the Spanish side next week to progress.
Still looking for a first Champions League crown, PSG gave up a 2-1 lead late in the second half on Wednesday against a Barca side which made the most of its chances, earning a narrow advantage for the return leg in Spain.
“Congratulations to Barca for the victory. I think we could have got a different result but we accept the scoreline tonight and are focused on turning it around,” he said after PSG suffered its first defeat since losing 2-1 away to AC Milan in the group stage in early November.
“It is clear that all defeats hurt and annoy, but I believe we played a good game against a very strong team,” he added. “We are only going to change the things that didn’t work, we always have to appreciate what a match of this magnitude means.
“We’re going to Barcelona with a lot of desire. It’s a positive point of view to think that we can win there. It’s going to be a final for us. I’m confident in my team.”
Luis Enrique refused to comment on Kylian Mbappe’s performance, as the France captain was shackled by Barcelona’s defense and had little impact on the game.
The Spanish manager, who won the treble with Barcelona in 2015, said his side deserved to win and that Barca was not necessarily the favorite to advance even with a win in hand and home-field advantage.
“We are going to go to Barcelona to fight a war,” he said.
“I never see the opposition as favorites, whoever they are. In top-level competition, that’s how I see it. And I will continue to believe that we will go to Barcelona to win the game.
“I repeat. We could have won this game. (Soccer) is about small details and let’s hope that the small details go our way in the second leg.”