Luis Enrique claimed he has the best squad in the world at his disposal at Paris Saint-Germain after they edged into the Champions League semi-finals at the expense of Aston Villa.
PSG went into the second leg in command of the tie following a 3-1 win in the first leg at the Parc des Princes last Wednesday.
And they appeared to have put the tie to bed when goals from Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes put them 2-0 up on the night after just 27 minutes, leaving Villa needing four goals just to force extra time.
But Youri Tielemans gave Villa hope in the 34th minute when his effort deflected in off Willian Pacho, who was the victim of more misfortune as he inadvertently helped John McGinn’s long-range effort on its way into the net 10 minutes into the second half.
Ezri Konsa then netted from close range two minutes later to put Villa on the cusp of a remarkable comeback.
However, the raucous Villa Park crowd was denied the fourth goal it demanded, Gianluigi Donnarumma pulling off a string of saves before Pacho blocked Ian Maatsen’s seemingly goal-bound effort late in stoppage time to confirm PSG’s place in the last four.
Speaking to Prime Video Sport after the game, Luis Enrique was asked if he has the best goalkeeper in the world in Donnarumma, but he went a lot further than that.
“I think I have the best squad in the world, not only the goalkeeper,” Luis Enrique replied. “You have a lot of quality players at a club like PSG. That’s football and that’s competition.”
That may seem to be an eyebrow-raising claim to make about a team shorn of the services of Kylian Mbappe following his move to Real Madrid last year.
However, with their elimination of Villa following an impressive last-16 win over Liverpool, Luis Enrique’s confidence in a team yet to lose domestically this season is understandable.
Ominously, he believes his players will improve for the experience of having to cling on against Villa.
“That match for us is something that allows to grow up and compete even better,” he added.
“Aston Villa was playing with a lot of intensity in the second half. I have to say we started the game in a great way, amazing two goals, and I think in the whole two matches we deserved to win.”
PSG will face either Arsenal or Madrid in the semi-finals. Arsenal lead 3-0 from the first leg, with Mbappe and Madrid hoping to produce a vintage turnaround at the Santiago Bernabéu to keep their title defence alive.
