Wednesday, 1st October, 2014
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes that Paris Saint-Germain are contenders to win the Champions League this season, after watching the French side edge out his team in a thrilling contest at the Parc des Princes last night.
PSG ran out 3-2 winners on the night, but the match ebbed and flowed, something which also left Enrique feeling a draw would have been a fair result.
The French took the lead through David Luiz after ten minutes, however Barcelona struck back one minute later through Lionel Messi.
PSG took the lead again though after Italian Marco Verratti scored midway through the first half and then went 3-1 ahead through Blaise Matuidi in the 54th minute.
Neymar hit back two minutes later, but Barcelona could not find an equaliser and went down to defeat.
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"We were confronted with a team which is at the same level as us and they withstood the pressure. This was an interesting match", Enrique said post match, via UEFA.
"We [moved] from one end to the other, and that may have had an impact on us, as we couldn't manage to find a solution in the last 25 minutes. We could have levelled the score: I'm not saying this loss isn't deserved, but a draw could have been fair.
"We made some mistakes while building from the back, mistakes that we simply can't afford against opponents of this calibre, who are very strong at set pieces."
And the Barcelona boss believes his side locked horns with a team good enough to go all the way in this season's competition.
"Paris did not surprise me: I know their potential. They are candidates for the Champions League title."
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