Paris St Germain return to the scene of last year’s Champions League triumph when they take on Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s semifinal second leg, and manager Luis Enrique has plenty of memories of the venue should extra motivation be required.
PSG won an enthralling first leg 5-4 at home and take their slender advantage to Bayern’s Allianz Arena, where the French club won their long-awaited first Champions League trophy in a 5-0 win over Inter Milan last May.
Luis Enrique also led Barcelona to win the competition a decade previously, when his side overcame Bayern in the last four.
“Of course we have brilliant memories here,” Luis Enrique told reporters on Tuesday.
“Coming back to Munich will always be a real pleasure because we can remember what we experienced last year.
“If I go a bit further back to when I was Barcelona coach, the year we won the Champions League we played in the semifinal here against Bayern in the second leg and we went on to win the final. So that is another source of motivation for me.”
Given the frantic nature of the first leg, where PSG fell
behind, then took a 5-2 lead before Bayern came back to within
one goal, the outcome in Munich is almost impossible to predict,
but Luis Enrique said he expects more of the same.
“As coaches, we always say the same thing, that there is a
difference between the first match and the second,” he said.
“Normally it’s because of the result, the stadium, or the
differences between the two teams. But in this case, I can’t say
it will be any different from what we saw in the first match.
“I think neither team accepts that the other is better, and
that’s what this match will reflect.”
Despite taking a one-goal lead into the second leg, there is
little danger PSG will take to the pitch in Munich with the
intention of holding onto what they already have.
“As a team we have the same target as in every away game,”
Luis Enrique said.
“That is our mentality, we try to win every game and we
don’t need to play for a particular result because we just want
to win tomorrow.
“We are ready, we know that Bayern can get back into it and
that we can also score goals, and we are certainly not here to
defend.”
Source: Khaleej Times