IMAGE: Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Paris St Germain produced a performance with coach Luis Enrique’s stamp all over it on Tuesday as they eked out a slender 1-0 advantage over Arsenal to take back home for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.
The Qatari-owned French club have never won the Champions League despite massive spending down the years on the likes of Kylian Mbappe and South American duo Lionel Messi and Neymar.
With those having all moved on, the current PSG team, while still possessing many outstanding individuals such as Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue, can roll its sleeves up and graft.
Dembele scored a superb team goal in the fourth minute but after that it was PSG’s resilience and calmness under Arsenal pressure that stood out, with Portuguese midfielder Vitinha leading by example with an outstanding display.
IMAGE: Paris St Germain’s Nuno Mendes celebrates after the match. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Even when Arsenal did penetrate PSG’s rock-solid defence, their keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stood tall to protect his side’s lead.
“I want to underline the work of 14 or 15 players tonight,” Spaniard Luis Enrique, who took charge in 2023, told reporters. “Some shone more than others and we needed a titan in goal, but they all showed they had the mindset that was required.
“We saw wonderful work, both individually and as a team. Defensively, we had the attackers working hard, midfielders getting forward and everyone getting back to defend when needed. You can’t play a team like Arsenal without that.”
The omens are now looking favourable for PSG who have grown into a formidable force since losing to Arsenal 2-0 in the league stage in October and needing a playoff to reach the last-16.
They had lost all six legs of their previous three two-legged Champions League semi-finals and had never beaten Arsenal before in five previous attempts.
IMAGE: Paris St Germain’s Ousmane Dembele in action. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Reuters
Plenty of work remains to be done against an Arsenal side who Luis Enrique says can change history in a moment, but PSG will start heavy favourites to complete the job and reach the final for the second time next Wednesday.
They have won 18 of the 19 ties when they recorded a first-leg away victory, but Luis Enrique, whose side have already wrapped up the French Ligue 1 title, said nothing was in the bag.
“Mission accomplished this evening,” he said. “But our sole objective is to win the second leg at home as well.
“With Arsenal, we cannot let our guard down and be complacent. This is a team who can completely rewrite history in one second and we’ll be back to square one. They’ll have nothing to lose and the second leg will be very tough.”
