Enrique praises defensive play, Neuer says Bayern lacked ‘killer instinct’

Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique praised his side’s defensive efforts as they reached the Champions League final with 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in the semi-final rematch.

The tie, which saw Ousmane Dembele’s early goal canceled out by Harry Kane’s stoppage-time effort on the night, sealed a 6-5 aggregate victory over the Bundesliga champions as they reached the finals as they prepare to defend their trophy against Arsenal.

After a brilliant if chaotic 5-4 win in Paris last week, the starters excelled in defense to keep the likes of Kane, Michael Olisset and Luis Diaz calm, and Enrique felt the back four deserved most of the plaudits ahead of another fateful date in Budapest on May 30.

The PSG boss said: « Good memories. We could have left the game with a lot of intensity. The defense was better than the attack.

« The character we showed against a team like Bayern is so positive. We are so happy to have reached a second consecutive Champions League final.

« It was very intense. Very difficult. They play football at the highest level. Both teams are similar, we like to press higher. We are very happy.

« In two days I will celebrate my birthday. I am very happy. We are in the next phase of the competition, the Champions League final. We want to give our supporters such a gift. »

Winger Hvica Kvaratskhelia, who assisted Dembele’s opener after three minutes, added: “We are very happy to be in the final.

« We know it will be difficult against Arsenal. Bayern are one of the best teams at the moment. It was very difficult.

The most difficult of the season. We showed that we can play against these teams. I would give anything for that badge.”

Neuer: We lacked the killer instinct

Manuel Neuer, who had to be on hand to make several saves to keep his side in the game for the 90 minutes, said Bayern lacked the ruthless touch needed to turn the tie around.

The goalkeeper said to DAZN: “I think we didn’t have the killer instinct in attack today, but in the end we had the opportunity to win the game.

“We didn’t have many clear chances but when you get those moments… look at Paris – they were just killer, scoring five goals like they did in the first game.

« That’s exactly what we needed today. And I think you could see that we actually came close to getting the finish, but we didn’t get the job done.

« Our goal unfortunately came a little too late. We didn’t have time to create another chance or maybe even get a set-piece situation. At that point it was too late.

« I think that key moment in the game was just missing. The stadium was there, we were there too, but I think in the Paris penalty area we just weren’t strict enough. »