Luis Enrique said he had the best team in the world at his disposal in Paris Saint-Germain after having made the end of the semi-finals of the Champions League to the detriment of Aston Villa.
PSG entered the return match at the control of equality after a 3-1 victory during the first leg at the Parc des Princes last Wednesday.
And they seemed to have put the tie in bed when the goals of Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes put them 2-0 in the night after only 27 minutes, leaving villa with four goals just to force more time.
But Youri Tielemans gave hope to Villa in the 34th minute when his effort was deviated in Willian Pacho, who was more unhappy when he inadvertently helped the long -range effort by John McGinn on his way in the 10 -minute net in the second half.
Ezri Konsa then scored closely two minutes later to get a villa with a remarkable return.
However, the crowd Raucous Villa Park was denied the fourth goal it demanded, Gianluigi Donnarumma achieving a series of backups before Pacho blocked the effort apparently linked to Ian Maattse at the end of the time to stop to confirm the PSG place in the last four.
Addressing Prime Video Sport after the match, Luis Enrique was asked if he had the best goalkeeper in the world in Donnarumma, but he went much further than that.
“I think I have the best team in the world, not just the goalkeeper,” replied Luis Enrique. “You have a lot of quality players in a club like PSG. It’s football and it’s competition.”
This may seem to be an assertion of the rise in eyebrows to make teams abandoning the services of Kylian Mbappe after his move to Real Madrid last year.
However, with their elimination of Villa following an impressive victory of the last 16 against Liverpool, Luis Enrique’s confidence in a team that does not lose at the national level this season is understandable.
Demanding, he thinks that his players will improve for the experience of having to hang on to Villa.
“This match for us is something that allows you to grow and contribute even better,” he added.
“Aston Villa played with great intensity in the second half. I must say that we started the game in a great way, two incredible goals, and I think that in the two games that we deserve to win.”
PSG will face Arsenal or Madrid in the semi-finals. Arsenal led 3-0 of the first stage, Mbappe and Madrid hoping to produce a vintage turnaround at the Santiago Bernabéu to maintain their life defense.
