Marquinhos savours PSG’s return to Champions League final, says second time is even tougher | OneFootball

Marquinhos savoured Paris Saint-Germain’s return to the Champions League final, saying doing it once is difficult and doing it again, consecutively, is even tougher.

At the Allianz Arena, Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé embraced, Warren Zaïre-Emery impressed at right-back, Fabian Ruiz hugged Joao Neves, then the captain led celebrations with the travelling PSG fans. According to L'Équipe, the scenes showed no fatigue, only childlike joy.

A year after winning their first Champions League at Bayern’s ground, Luis Enrique’s side produced another immense European night, keeping alive hopes of a second crown. From the stands, the eruption felt louder than after eliminating Arsenal at the same stage last season, 1-0 then 2-1, and beating the season’s best team magnified the feat.

Doué highlighted the collective’s solidarity and maturity, saying the squad were overjoyed and that everyone fought for one another. He added that these are the matches they have dreamt of since childhood, and that attacking and defending well as a unit underpinned the win.

Marquinhos, captain of a side transformed in Europe, stressed the scale of the journey. He said Bayern set one of the hardest tests, examining PSG high, on the counter and in possession, and forcing them out of their comfort zone.

PSG will defend their European title in three weeks in Budapest, yet neither Marquinhos nor Doué wanted euphoria to take over. They insisted on staying humble, knowing where they want to go, and on keeping the right mentality before the final.

Source: L'Équipe