Paris Saint-Germain have won admirers worldwide for their vibrant, stylish and expressive football. Coach Luis Enrique, however, has also shaped a team capable of digging deep when the going gets tough.
It was a quality evident during their triumphant 2024/25 UEFA Champions League campaign, and was on show again in Saturday’s FIFA Club World Cup™ quarter-final against FC Bayern München.
After PSG hit the front through Desire Doue’s 78th-minute strike, a captivating contest took another twist when Willian Pacho was sent off shortly after. The French giants held firm in the face of mounting Bayern pressure, but their task was made even more onerous when Lucas Hernandez was given a red card in the 92nd minute.
Down to nine players, many teams would crumble against a team of Bayern’s calibre. Luis Enrique’s PSG are made of different stuff, and after successfully defending a couple of dangerous set-pieces, Ousmane Dembele scored a stunning breakaway goal to put the result beyond doubt.
“This season we have displayed true team spirit,” said Luis Enrique. “We may win, draw or lose, but our attitude and behaviour is there. We have resilience. Our fans, our supporters have great resilience. They are helping our team regardless (of the context of the match).
“The end of the game was crazy. We are well aware of the situation we faced. We had two players off the pitch. I believe both teams could have won. We did a great match as well as Bayern. The game was very intense. We knew it would be a tough one to play. We showed if there is a team that can take the ball from us, then we are also dangerous on the counter-attack.”
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Just over a month after scoring a brace in the Champions League final, 20-year-old forward Doue again showed he is made for the big stage. His goal against Bayern was befitting a game of such quality. The Frenchman controlled a pass from Joao Neves, took a touch to set up a shooting opportunity, then rifled a left-footed strike past Manuel Neuer from the edge of the penalty area.
Doue, too, was eager to underline the importance of the team’s steadfast determination.
“I believe we have great spirit,” he said. “We have displayed that. This is a collective win. It was a tough match on our end, we had to face duels, and it was a tough fight. Today I was really happy to defend (to help the team).”
Achraf Hakimi, who laid on the assist for Dembele’s late strike, added: “This year we have gone through very difficult moments, but this team has shown its character, the personality we have to be united in these difficult moments. We were able to score the second goal and we have shown that we want to continue in this competition, and that we are one of the candidates for the title.”
