Luis Enrique: "A strange match"
Men's football•
The Paris Saint-Germain coach and forward Désiré Doué spoke to PSG TV about the 3-2 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg victory over AS Monaco at the Stade Louis II on Tuesday 17 February.
"My first impression: what a struggle. It was a strange match. I have to say that out of the last six matches here, this is only the second one we've won. It shows how difficult it is, but I would like to start this reaction by thanking our supporters. They are incredible. When we were 2-0 down, all we could hear was our fans, full of confidence and support for the team, this win is for them. It was amazing, and we are very determined to keep improving. The match was difficult because the first two times they beat our press, they scored two goals. It was difficult to turn it around, but I have to congratulate the players, both individually and collectively, because I believe we deserved this victory, even if it was difficult.
"Very focused. Because in football, there are many moments in a match when you can lose confidence, when you can have problems. Overcoming that isn't easy. We did it in the first half, but then we missed a penalty, which is even worse for confidence. Competition is tough, and it's difficult to perform well all the time. You have to understand that we're a very young team and there's pressure. Last year, it was a different kind of pressure because no one thought we were going to be champions. This year, we are under pressure, we like that pressure, it's not an excuse, you have to understand that overcoming that pressure isn't easy, but I'm happy."
"Yes, of course, I'm very happy. That was the goal today, to come here and win. We did the job and I'm very happy with my performance. We feel great, we're happy to have won this first leg, we showed great spirit tonight, coming back from behind to win the match. For the second match, we'll have to prepare as best we can, as usual, and go out and win.
"We want to thank the supporters. From the start of the match, they were fully behind us, they didn't stop singing throughout the match, a huge thank you!"