Luis Enrique believes Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League campaign really kicked on following their win over Manchester City in January.
PSG stand on the brink of their second appearance in the final and will look to secure their place in Munich by seeing off Arsenal at the Parc des Princes tomorrow night.
Luis Enrique’s men hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg and will bank on a boisterous home crowd to help them get the job done.
Le Parc se prépare… 🌱#PSGARS | #UCL pic.twitter.com/7HXRoWn4r9
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) May 6, 2025
It’s a remarkable turnaround for the Ligue 1 champions after their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages hung by a thread prior to the game with City four months ago.
Their chances looked remote when, against the run of play, City established a 2-0 lead in Paris thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish only for PSG to stage a ferocious comeback with four goals in a blistering 40-minute spell.
Luis Enrique – I was always confident in my PSG side
From here they haven’t looked back, making sure of progression from the league phase with a 4-1 win in Stuttgart followed by knockout victories over Brest, Liverpool and Aston Villa to reach the last four.
Asked where he felt the campaign turned, Luis Enrique said: “The match against Manchester City was special because we had a lot of problems that we managed to solve. But I’ve always been confident.”
Dembele and Kvaratskhelia will provide the threat to Arsenal
Key to their improvement have been flying forwards Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Dembele has arguably been the best player in Europe since the turn of the year while Kvaratskhelia was signed from Napoli in the winter transfer window and has provided PSG with a new dimension.
Of Kvaratskhelia, Luis Enrique said: “He is very young but he has a lot of experience. It’s hard to find that in an attacker. It was a little hard for him to adapt but today his qualities are above average.
“I am very proud of his performance, of what he does with and without the ball.”
And of Dembele, who has been passed fit after limping off at the Emirates last Tuesday, he added: “I think he took advantage of his time at different clubs. His time in Barcelona was very useful to him with a philosophy of play similar to what we are trying to convey.”
PSG exited the competition at the semi-final stage last year despite dominating against Borussia Dortmund but Luis Enrique does not feel that experience will help them against Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.
“No. It is a matter of living every day as we have done so far,” he said. “We are here because it is deserved and now we have to play this return match. The goal is to win it.”
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