Two defeats, four goals conceded and only one scored: Real Sociedad found themselves stronger than them in the round of 16 of the Champions League with PSG as their opponent.
After his team's 2-1 defeat on home soil, Imanol Alguacil, the Basque coach, was complimentary at a press conference when talking about PSG.
How do you analyze this elimination?
IMANOL ALGUACIL.
It was a great evening and I would like to congratulate the audience.
I will never forget this evening and neither will the players.
The second half wasn't easy, we lost 2-0 and we stayed in the match.
We were far from overturning the result but we saw a fantastic PSG.
They can go to the final, they press high, they have tremendous abilities.
It’s a great, incredible team.
I have a lot of good things to say about them.
But Real fought.
After the first goal, it was already a turning point.
It's not easy to play against PSG.
Did Kylian Mbappé hurt you a lot?
We had difficulty channeling him, defending on him but we were courageous for the rest of the match.
We had chances in the second half, four or five.
I left the pitch with my head held high, proud of my team.
We must salute the work of my team against perhaps the team which will win the Champions League.
“With the level of PSG this evening, we couldn’t hope for much”
Luis Enrique thinks it would have been more complicated for PSG to meet you in September…
We have seen their level now.
We proved that we had the ability to fight against them but it is true that we are not at our best moment.
With the level of PSG this evening, we couldn't hope for much.
PSG can win the Champions League and it's not physical or tactical.
This is the way to work, to defend, to press.
We didn't see the real Real because of PSG's pressure.
In the first leg, we played better than PSG.
Tonight, PSG were better than us.
PSG is a real candidate to reach the final.
If he plays like tonight, he can win it.
This gives value to our service.
Are you proud to have seen the best Real of the 21st century?
In the first half, we fought against a great team.
The public was grateful as were you journalists.
It was not easy.
It is perhaps also the consequence of having played in such a strong group stage.
We may have paid the price but I don't want to make excuses.
We had a lot of withdrawals, players selected.
We want to continue dreaming.
We must continue to work and the applause encourages us for the future.
I liked the attitude of my team in this very bad moment that we have been going through for some time.
Do you see PSG as strong as Real Madrid or Manchester City in C1?
Considering how they played tonight, they are as strong as Real Madrid or Manchester City.
Their defensive work says a lot about PSG, their players and their coach.
Physically, they are stronger than us.
We had difficulty managing the situation with Ousmane Dembélé.
It's a very strong team.
Luis Enrique congratulated me on our journey in the Champions League but more broadly in general, on the work of recent years.
He is a coach who is still in football.