Paris Saint-Germain manager, Luis Enrique, took a cheeky swipe at Ligue 1’s “farmers’ league” tag after guiding his team to the UEFA Champions League final with a commanding 3-1 aggregate win over Arsenal in the semifinals, completing a remarkable sweep of English opposition this season.
Having secured a 1-0 victory at the Emirates in the first leg, PSG wrapped up the tie at Parc des Princes, thanks to goals from Fabián Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka managed a consolation goal in the 76th minute, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the French champions from advancing to the final.
With the Ligue 1 title already secured last month, PSG now have a shot at a historic treble.
They’ll face Reims in the Coupe de France final on May 24, before clashing with Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Munich a week later.
Speaking after the semifinal win, Luis Enrique didn’t miss the chance to mock critics who often downplay Ligue 1’s quality.
“The league of farmers, no? We are the league of farmers,” Luis Enrique told TNT Sports with a grin. “But it’s nice. We are enjoying the result and the compliments of everybody speaking of our team — our mentality, how we play. It’s nice.”
He addressed his friendly rivalry with Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, while standing firm on PSG’s deserved victory.
“Mikel Arteta is a great friend, but I don’t agree at all [that Arsenal deserved to win]. They play the way they want and love to play, but in the two legs, we scored more goals than them and that is the most important thing.
“Arsenal played a great match and we suffered a lot, but we deserve to get to the final.”
Luis Enrique also lauded the performance of his players, especially goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who played a pivotal role in PSG’s knockout stage run.
“How are you going to win a Champions League without a great goalkeeper? Today, Gigi [Gianluigi Donnarumma] was phenomenal, as he was in every qualifying round, like against Liverpool.
“How are you going to win the Champions League without a good defence? They were phenomenal today.”
PSG’s journey wasn’t always smooth. The team lost three of their first five games in the League Phase and looked to be on the brink of elimination in January. However, their comeback 4-2 win over Manchester City at the Parc des Princes marked a shift in momentum.
“The turning point could have been the match against Manchester City in which we were losing 0-2,” Luis Enrique recalled. “But in the group stage statistics, we were among the best in Europe. We are fair finalists.
“It means a lot. Everybody was dreaming with getting to a Champions League final and our first goal when we arrived in Paris was to make history and we are on the right path.”
Looking ahead to the final, PSG will take on a battle-hardened Inter Milan side that eliminated Barcelona in their own semifinal. Luis Enrique acknowledged the challenge that lies ahead.
“Inter are more experienced than us, older players, but we want to win trophies and we will have that mentality for the final,” he said. “It is going to be tough, but they will have same final. An interesting final — very difficult for both teams. A special moment for us and them also.
“It is their second final in three years, so they are a great team. We have time to plan, but now is the time to celebrate.”
