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| Source=Paris Saint-Germain |
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"It was by far the best team we faced this season."
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk made the remarks after suffering a penalty shootout defeat in the second round of the European Champions League (UCL) round of 16 home game against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on the 12th (Korea time). PSG, which lost 0-1 at home in the first game, returned the game to square one with Usman Dembele's first goal in the second game, and turned the game around thanks to gatekeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's good defense. Liverpool's Darwin Núñez and Curtis Jones missed the penalty shootout.
Van Dijk also had a war of nerves with a senior PSG official in the first round of the round of 16, but after the second round, he accepted the defeat smoothly. He also said PSG coach Luis Enrique's achievements should be highly appreciated. Liverpool manager Arne Slot "It was the best game I've ever played in person."
Van Dijk is not the only one who has praised PSG. Thierry Henry appeared on CBS Sports' Champions League broadcast and was amazed by PSG's performance. Henry, who repeated the expression 'Wow', said "Vitinya's way of coordinating and defending the game is different. It's a different dimension. João Neves, Nunu Mendes and William Pacho are all amazing. Archiraf Hakimi..Wow. I'm very happy that French soccer looks like this. I am also grateful to Nasser El-Khelaifi."
Then "I don't know director Enrique well, but I'd like to say he's amazing. Look at the way he brings the team together. Sometimes talent alone is not enough. You have to do well both on the ball and off the ball. PSG, wow" he raved.
Former Italian striker Christian Vieri, who appeared on the show with Henri, commented that PSG's style of play is the same as Barcelona. Before the game, he praised the Enriqueball, which dominates the game, saying, `PSG's play last week (the first round of the round of 16) has not been seen in the past five to six years.'
`Tonight, it's a tricky match at Anfield, so you'll know whether PSG is a big team or not,' said Vieri, who passed the Anfield Test in a good way. Midfielder Lee Kang-in supported the team's victory by substituting in overtime. Vieri also predicted that PSG and Barcelona would clash in the Champions League final. PSG avoided the favourites in the quarterfinals. Defeat English club Aston Villa.
"Manchester United legend" Rio Ferdinand told TNT Sports that "PSG now looks like its squad and supporters are interconnected" and "PSG's way of playing, mindset, Enrique's style of play, build-up. I think we can win the Champions League in two or three years, even if it's not this year."
Lee Kang-in has been playing as a substitute this year. His position has been reduced due to the recruitment of 'Georgia Maradona'Hvicha Kravatskhelia, which he signed in January. Individual players will be disappointed about their playing time, but the team is on the rise with better football than when Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Neymar (Santus) and Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) played. Coach Enrique, who experimented with various cards in the first half, such as 'Lee Kang-in Zero Top', found the last puzzle called Hvicha to improve the team's completeness.
PSG has won 17 games in 19 games, including the Cup, in 2025. He has virtually confirmed his victory in the French Ligue 1 with six consecutive wins and no losses in the season, and has overcome a major crisis in the Champions League. Statistics firm Opta predicted a 74.6 percent chance of PSG advancing to the semifinals through a supercomputer. The probability of winning is 20.3%, the highest among the teams that advanced to the quarterfinals. Barcelona is 19.6%, Arsenal is 18.5%, Real Madrid is 10%, and Bayern Munich is 9.2%.
Park Ji-sung (Manchester United) is the only Korean player who has won the Champions League. I listened to the big year in the 2007-2008 season. Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae are trying to become the first Korean big year in 18 years.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
