Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates his goal against Barcelona on April 16. — AFP
Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique on Tuesday dismissed talk his side were feeling the heat before their midweek Champions League semifinal, first leg game against Borussia Dortmund, saying “we’re here to enjoy it”.
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said PSG were “built to win the Champions League” but Enrique, who won the elite European competition as Barcelona manager in 2015, said his side should focus on relishing the experience.
“What’s great about being here is that we can enjoy a really special game at a unique stadium in Europe,” said the Spaniard.
“We have a chance to make our fans really happy by reaching the final. That’s what we’ve earned the right to do. We’ll try to enjoy that.
“We will try to win both legs. It’s not in our handbook to leave things to chance. It will be a wonderful spectacle for everyone who loves football.”
PSG were dominant in a 2-0 win over Dortmund at home to open their Champions League campaign, but were held to a 1-1 draw in the return leg.
Dortmund have gone 10 games unbeaten at home in the Champions League in their 80,000-seat strong Westfalenstadion fortress.
PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions on Sunday, their 10th league title in the past 12 seasons.
The domestic dominance has however not been translated into European silverware. PSG lost the final in 2020 to Bayern Munich.
“When you come to stadiums like this one it’s a pleasure. You have to enjoy where you are and where you are as footballers as well,” continued the former Spain coach.
“We’ll experience it all tomorrow. We are ready and prepared to play two great games and want to win both of them.”
Told his side were considered strong favourites by the media, the 53-year-old said: “That shows the press doesn’t know much about football.”
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said semifinal opponents PSG were “built to win the Champions League”, ahead of Wednesday’s first leg.
Terzic said on Tuesday lifting the European Cup has been the “main objective” of PSG since being taken over by Qatar Sports Investments.
“The project in Paris began with the goal of winning the Champions League,” Terzic told reporters. “That’s been their main objective for a decade.”
PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions on Sunday, their 10th league title in the past 12 seasons.
The domestic dominance has however translated into European silverware. PSG lost the final in 2020 to Bayern Munich.
Dortmund, who won the competition in 1997, are playing in the semifinals for the fifth time in the club’s history and the first time since 2013, when they also lost to Bayern in the final.
Terzic singled out Kylian Mbappe for particular praise, but said PSG posed an attacking threat across the park.
“It’s the question you hear the most: ‘How do you stop Kylian Mbappe?’ But if you focus only on Kylian Mbappe, then comes Ousmane Dembele or (Goncalo) Ramos, or Vitinha, or (Achraf) Hakimi, or (Randal) Kolo Muani and all the others,” he said.
“They have unbelievable quality.
“If we want to focus on one thing, then we need to focus on the ball. If we worry about the ball — there’s just one — then it’s much harder for them to score.”
Dortmund topped a difficult group earlier in the competition featuring PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle, before eliminating PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid to reach the semis.
“Were we the favourites in the group? Against Atletico Madrid? I don’t know,” Terzic said when asked if his side will be underdogs against Paris.
“Maybe we’re the team with less experience, but we may have the greatest hunger.
“When everyone digs in, not just those on the field and on the bench but everyone in the stadium, we’ve got a huge opportunity — and we need to take it.”
Terzic said several key players, including quarter-final goalscorers Marcel Sabitzer and Sebastien Haller, would be fit to play.
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