Expected since March 15, the date of the draw, the double confrontation between PSG and Barcelona began this Wednesday. In a Parc des Princes of great evenings, PSG lost to its Catalan enemy (2-3), in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League. One week before the return match in Spain, Luis Enrique and his men have not convinced and will have to produce a completely different performance to reverse the trend and qualify.
In France, Enrique and Donnarumma singled out
Absent from this big meeting, Kylian Mbappé disappointed but it was his coach, Luis Enrique, who paid the price for this disillusionment.
“It is clear that the result discredits my decisions, I accept everything that a defeat means
,” admitted the Parisian technician at the end of the meeting. Daniel Riolo, consultant for
RMC Sport,
was not kind to the latter:
“We didn't understand anything about Luis Enrique's eleven. Maybe we will continue to say that we have a genius at the helm of the club. How can you add intensity when you have players who don't even play their position? Even they are surprised!”
Luis Enrique surprises... it's a Kinder Surprise.
Daniel Riolo.
Luis Enrique is not the only one to be singled out. His goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, is just as much. Lack of commitment, recovery in the axis, the Italian has once again exposed himself to criticism.
“On a corner like that, putting a header within 5.50m…”
, saddened Jérôme Rothen, in After Foot, on
RMC
. For its part, L'Équipe wonders if PSG will succeed in overcoming the French curse. No French club has managed to qualify for the Champions League after losing at home in the first leg during the knockout stages.
In Spain, the famous press and room
For Mundo Deportivo, this success is
“Barça’s greatest victory”
and headlines its front page in French
“Very Good”.
If
Sport
highlights Raphinha's performance, for their part
AS
and
Marca
focus on Enrique's choices and Mbappé's performance.
“Luis Enrique perhaps cursed himself for having launched this barb before facing a Barça eager to regain its place in Europe
,” writes
AS.
Marca
is saddened by a Mbappé lacking inspiration and solutions facing his teammate in the French team, Jules Koundé. The Spanish media described
the Parisian striker's match as
“mediocre”
. Finally, the performance of the Catalan club convinced so much that, for this same daily,
“Barça can compete with anyone”
.