Luis Enrique emphatically insisted that he believes PSG will beat Barcelona in Spain despite going down 3-2 in the first leg of the quarter-final.
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Raphinha magic condemned PSG to defeat Gianluigi Donnarumma and Kylian Mbappe had a dismal outingEnrique backs his men to turn around the fixture in Spain WHAT HAPPENED?
Despite Paris Saint-Germain surrendering a 2-1 lead late in the second half, Enrique has expressed unwavering confidence in his team's ability to make a comeback on Tuesday, April 16 at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc. He mentioned that his troops would take the pitch in the second leg deeming it a final – prepared to give their all to achieve continental glory.
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Speaking to reporters after the match, Enrique said: "All defeats hurt and bother, but this match, like all others, has had ups and downs. We started well, dominating, but after 0-1, we had doubts when it came to putting pressure against a Barça with a lot of quality who knew how to break the pressure. At half-time, we changed things and we were able to turn the game around, but after a wonderful play from the second line it was 2-2 and then it was 2-3 from a corner. We had two goals, but the result was negative.
"We have been good on an emotional level, but when you concede a goal at home it is normal for moments of doubt to come and we already consider the Barcelona match as a final to go and win. I congratulate Barça for the victory. We could have obtained another result. We accept the result and are now thinking about the return in Barcelona."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Kylian Mbappe remained an anonymous figure throughout the 90 minutes and barring a couple of dribbles, had little impact on the match. However, Enrique refrained from individual criticism and stated: "I'm not talking individually after a defeat, I'm talking about the team, about the work, about many things to improve and the coach is the most responsible."
READY FOR A 'WAR' IN BARCELONA
Despite Barcelona's narrow advantage, Enrique remained undeterred, asserting PSG's readiness to approach the return leg as a battle to be won. Drawing from his experience, including winning the treble with Barcelona in 2015, Enrique maintained that PSG deserved more from the match and refused to consider Barcelona as outright favourites in the upcoming fixture.
"We are going to go to Barcelona to fight a war," he said.
"I never see the opposition as favourites, 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. (Football) is about small details and let's hope that the small details go our way in the second leg.
"I have no doubt that we can achieve it and I believe that we will achieve it, if there is a team that does not speculate away from home it is us, there are six days left and we depend on winning and that the goals are not worth double away from home. All the games are open in the quarterfinals."