Luis Enrique said there was no better team than his Paris Saint-Germain side after the reigning European champions booked a Champions League final clash against Arsenal with a 6-5 aggregate semifinal win against Bayern Munich.
A 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena after Harry Kane’s stoppage-time equalizer for Bayern leveled Ousmane Dembélé’s third-minute opener ensured PSG reached their second successive final, as the French team dominated in Bavaria.
Though they still qualified for the Champions League playoffs after failing to finish in the top eight of the league phase, Luis Enrique said that PSG were still the best team in Europe.
And he said his team proved him right by overcoming Bayern to seal their date with Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30.
“Do I believe we can win the final? Yes,” Luis Enrique told reporters. “Do you remember what I said after group stage?
“I said I don’t see any team being better than we are. The critics were saying that PSG are maybe not that great, but I was right.
“Bayern are at our level and Arsenal have been one of the best teams this season. They have had an incredible year and are still chasing the Premier League.
“They are in the final, but I believe in my team and it is important to underline that.
“We showed over the last three years that we are ready to play against any opponents. This is a team you can count on because we are always fighting.”
PSG have earned praise for their attacking play, but Luis Enrique said the performance in Munich, after last week’s 5-4 first-leg win, proved they can also defend properly.
“Today we showed that when we have to defend with a low block, we can do it,” the former Barcelona coach said. “We don’t like to do it and we don’t select players to play that way, but we can do it.
“It was great to see players with this kind of mentality. We improved our defense by a lot.
“We had too many one-on-one situations last week, but we won more duels in this game and maintained our level.
“Parisians like to play beautiful football and they like to fight and that is our philosophy.”
PSG are also on the cusp of winning Ligue 1 for the fifth straight season and eighth time in the past nine seasons.–ESPN
