Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique described his side’s dramatic 5-4 Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Bayern Munich as the best match of his coaching career after Tuesday’s nine-goal thriller in Paris.
The result at Parc des Princes became the highest-scoring semi-final in Champions League history and leaves PSG with a narrow advantage heading into next week’s return leg in Munich.
“I have never seen a match with this kind of intensity,” Luis Enrique said after the game. “It has been, without a doubt, the best match I have ever been involved in as a coach.”
PSG surged into a 5-2 lead early in the second half, powered by two goals each from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele. Bayern responded strongly, however, as Dayot Upamecano headed in from Joshua Kimmich’s free kick before Luis Diaz reduced the deficit to one.
Despite the late Bayern fightback, Luis Enrique insisted his side deserved their victory while acknowledging the chaotic nature of the contest.
“We deserved to win, we deserved to draw and we deserved to lose today,” he said. “It was a fantastic match.”
The PSG coach admitted the pace and drama of the encounter had left him drained.
“I’m so tired, and I didn’t run a single kilometer,” he said. “So I don’t know how the players are feeling.”
Looking ahead to the second leg, Luis Enrique expects another stern challenge in Germany.
“Bayern Munich in their stadium are even stronger, but we will try and show the same mentality,” he said.
PSG will face either Arsenal or Atletico Madrid in the final if they progress, with the showpiece set for Budapest on May 30.
Oluwagbemisola Babalola
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