PSG mental resilience key to reaching Club World Cup semi-finals

Hindustan Times

a day ago

Much has been made of European champions Paris Saint-Germain's attacking flair, their rapid and dangerous wingers and thrilling style, but what carried them through to the Club World Cup semi-finals on Saturday was a dose of resilience. PSG mental resilience key to reaching Club World Cup semi-finals
Luis Enrique's side beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in Atlanta with just nine men at the end after late red cards for Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez.
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made several good saves to help the French treble winners progress to the final four, where they will meet a familiar face in Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe.
Captain Marquinhos said his team's mentality was vital to keep adding silverware to their trophy cabinet.
"It was a game that taught us lessons, a game that brought us out of our comfort zone," the Brazilian defender told reporters.
" the mentality of our group, it's something we talk about a lot winning is very hard and to keep winning is even harder.
"That's our mentality today, to show we are always hungry, that we always want to go further."
Luis Enrique explained that his team's work over the past year has contributed to their growing resilience.
"This goes back to the season that we played, we suffered together... we displayed a true team spirit," said the Spaniard.
"We may win, we may lose, we may have a draw, but our attitude, our actions are there."
PSG won the Champions League for the first time in their history in May after a tricky run to the final, including a last-16 triumph over Liverpool on penalties.
Donnarumma was the hero as they dug deep at Anfield in March and ousted Arne Slot's side, who were among the favourites to win the trophy.
"We even went to Liverpool looking for a result you need a very good mentality. Today again, with two fewer men, we were all together on the pitch, defending as a team, helping each other out there," said Marquinhos.
"When the red card happened I looked at my team-mates and I saw they were pumped up to defend together.
"We talked to each other, we said we'll defend, we won't concede goals, this game is ours and we'll defend hard to the end.
"I knew nothing would happen we said that our team is very strong in this moment... it doesn't matter what happens, mentally we're ready."
In fact, with PSG down to nine men and leading through Desire Doue's goal, they held off Bayern and added a second through Ousmane Dembele.
The Parisians also impressed against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals, resisting Mikel Arteta's side in the first leg to claim a hard-fought 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.
They fell two goals down in the Coupe de France semi-final against Dunkerque, before bouncing back to win 4-2 on the way to claiming the trophy.
Luis Enrique said his squad had a "great ability" to manage difficult moments after that Cup win in April, and the coach again praised his team for their strength to hold on against Bayern.
"It's a team that has resilience, our supporters, they have great resilience," said Luis Enrique.
"We are a team that is ready to compete at all times, no matter the result."
Marquinhos said the former Spain and Barcelona coach's work was a key reason for the club's mental strength improving.
Previous PSG sides have been littered with star names but lacked the nous and grit to triumph on the biggest occasions.
"The key is our coach, he has brought his philosophy, he's brought with him his mentality, he has prepared the team very well from the first day he arrived," said Marquinhos.
"He was looking to improve the team mentally, to be ready for everything that can happen in a game...
"We went through it all this season, bad moments in which we didn't get results, when we played well but didn't score."
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany recalled the excessive criticism of Luis Enrique after the Germans edged PSG 1-0 in the Champions League first round in November.
However, after they overcame that hardship among others to dominate Europe, hammering Inter Milan in the most one-sided final in the competition's history, few would bet against them going on to conquer the world.
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