Paris St Germain’s Perfect Timing for Champions League Semi-Final
Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique believes the timing is perfect for their upcoming Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund. Enrique’s side, crowned as French champions, are set to face Dortmund in the first leg, with a place in the Coupe de France final already secured.
Enrique’s Optimism
“We are trying to keep improving and it is just the start of the project,” Enrique said. “We have gradually improved our performance levels and now there is one month left until the end of the season, and we are alive in every competition.”
“This is the biggest competition in all of Europe with four teams left all capable of reaching the final, so we need to manage our emotions, manage the pressure and play well,” Enrique added. “But we should not be threatened by that pressure. I think we head into it at the perfect stage of our season.”
Paris St Germain’s Progress
Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos believes that Paris St Germain has improved since their previous encounter with Dortmund earlier in the season. “I think we are more of a team than in the last game against them because we have had more time to work, more time to know each other,” he said.
“There were a lot of new players into the club before this season who had never played together but now it is more like a family. When we played here before we didn’t have a whole team healthy and now we have everything.”
Team Updates
Presnel Kimpembe and Sergio Rico are the only absentees in the PSG squad, while Dortmund will be without Ramy Bensebaini and Julien Duranville. Coach Edin Terzic is hopeful that Marcel Sabitzer, Donyell Malen, and Sebastien Haller will be available after recent setbacks.
Dortmund’s Strategy for the Semi-Final
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic emphasized the importance of capitalizing on home advantage in the first leg to secure a good chance of progressing to the final. “We want to create two close games,” Terzic said. “We need to perform for 180 minutes at the highest level to achieve our big dream of reaching the final.”
“We will develop a plan that aims to hurt them,” Terzic added. “If we press them high and inject tempo into our play, we’ll also manage to create goalscoring chances against Paris. That’s the clear mission.”
“They will be two close games. The good thing about close games is: you can win them.”