MADRID, 2 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Paris Saint-Germain coach, Luis Enrique Martínez, has stated that before playing this Wednesday against Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, “he would have agreed to generate the number of chances” that his pupils have generated during the second half of the game and “how clear they were in scoring”, although without a reward based on the final 1-0 in favor of the Germans.
“I would have liked to generate the number of chances we have generated and how clear they have been to score. But then we have to be a little more effective to achieve another result,” Luis Enrique said at a press conference from Signal Iduna Park. “It will be open like this match, without a doubt, and we will see what version we give,” he alluded to the second leg.
“We coaches always make decisions based on what we consider to be best for our team. I think that before starting to evaluate the changes, I think we have seen an even match, with two teams that play football well when they have the ball. and that it is difficult to take it away from them,” summarized the Asturian PSG coach.
“I think that both teams have generated many scoring chances and that, if before the game they told me if I wanted to have as many scoring chances as in this match, I would have signed it. But this time the rival has scored a goal, we have not were able to score on any of the occasions and it is a result that reflects equality on the field of play,” added the former FC Barcelona and Spanish national team coach.
Despite the defeat, he predicted a different return match. “It is the first time in the competition that Dortmund is going to play its second game away from home. It is the first time that we are going to play our second game at home, so they are different and new scenarios. Now we no longer have nothing to lose,” he argued.
“What’s more, regardless of the result, we would have gone on to win the next game. Everything surrounding the game from the fans, the exceptional atmosphere of the German fans and also the exceptional atmosphere of our 3,000 Parisians singing the entire game and cheering us on, in Paris will be the opposite. We will be supported by our fans and we just have to think about recovering, about improving some aspects of the game,” commented the Spanish coach.
Regarding the injury of defender Lucas Hernández during the action of the goal, Luis Enrique clarified little. “I don’t have any information beyond what the doctors have told us. He hasn’t been able to continue and is waiting for medical reports, I don’t really know,” he simply answered.
“Clearly our objective was to press. Clearly Dortmund is a team that is capable of playing short passes with the ball, but at the same time they have a player like Füllkrug, a very tall and powerful player to play long balls. We have tried to protect ourselves in that our right side, their left, and allowing a 2 with 1 against Bradley Barcola to be ready for each long ball, having either our winger or our interior with possibilities is helping,” he explained.
Looking ahead to the return, he pointed out that Edin Terzic’s students “are going to defend those long balls.” “Dortmund is a very well-worked team. They have these two options: if you don’t pressure them well, they are capable of playing; if you pressure them well, they play long balls,” said Luis Enrique.
“I think the game was very even, very close. We were, perhaps in the first half, a little less intense in attack, without really generating any danger; the second half was totally different,” concluded the coach from Gijón in the Press room.