‘We always believed’
Never any doubt of overturning first-leg deficit, says Dembele after PSG stun Barcelona
OUSMANE DEMBELE said there was never any doubt Paris Saint-Germain could overturn a first-leg deficit against Barcelona as the French champions won 4-1 in Spain yesterday to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Trailing 3-2 from last week’s clash in Paris, Luis Enrique’s PSG fell further behind in the tie when Raphinha turned in Lamine Yamal’s cross in the 12th minute.
But a red card for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo was the turning point, with Dembele bringing PSG back into the quarterfinal as he fired home shortly before halftime.
Vitinha brought the visitors level on aggregate before Kylian Mbappe struck twice, converting a penalty and then applying the fatal blow a minute from time to complete a 6-4 aggregate victory.
“Everyone believed we could do it, even though we lost 3-2 in the first leg. We didn’t throw in the towel. We knew we would score goals here. The whole team did a great job,” Dembele told Canal Plus.
“We have done a lot of work tactically all week and the coach’s tactics were perfect. We saw in the game, even though we lost the first goal, we didn’t give up. We kept believing because we had to win the match.”
It was the first time in club history PSG had won a Champions League tie after losing the first leg at home.
Their reward will be a meeting with another of Dembele’s former sides, Borussia Dortmund, who overcame Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate after winning 4-2 at home yesterday.
“It was a great effort. Everyone was exceptional throughout the whole game. I saw that Borussia Dortmund got through and there’s another club I played for,” said Dembele, who shrugged off a frosty reception in Barcelona.
“I had a great evening. Being booed by the Barcelona fans is not going to affect me. I gave everything. I scored and won a penalty, so I am pleased with my performance.”
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez claimed the referee’s decision to send Araujo off in the 29th minute for pulling down Bradley Barcola on the edge of the box was “unnecessary” and ended the club’s hopes.
“It’s a shame that the work of a whole season ends here because of a refereeing decision,” Xavi told Movistar. “This dismissal is unnecessary.”
Xavi was sent off for a show of dissent on the sideline as Barcelona lost their heads in the second half and he criticised Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs.
“The referee was very bad, I told him, he didn’t understand the game,” said the coach.
Araujo’s red card led Xavi to take off 16-yearold winger Lamine Yamal, who created Barcelona’s opening goal, with Inigo Martinez coming on to fill the hole in defence.
“We’re angry, the red card defines the tie,” continued Xavi. “We were well organised, for me it’s too much to give a red card, from there it’s another tie.
“We had doubts about whether to take off Lamine, he was doing well – that moment completely defined the tie.
“I would have liked to have played 11 vs 11 against Luis Enrique and against PSG (for) all the minutes of the game.
“We know that there are sendings off in football but I believe that this one (for Araujo) was unnecessary.”
But ex-striker Thierry Henry thinks the chaos was all Barcelona’s own making.
“You can’t make mistakes in the Champions League,” Henry told CBS.
“If you make mistakes, you pay the price straight away and that’s why it is so hard to win that competition because you cannot make one mistake.
“Barcelona deserved to go down to 10 men. That penalty was a penalty. That doesn’t mean you have to concede those goals,” he added.
“The goals they conceded weren’t because they were playing with 10 men. It was because they started to panic. You cannot win any title or be champions when you panic. I don’t care who you are.” – AFP/Agencies