Monaco v PSG: Victory, philosophy and Doué, Marquinhos’ key words | OneFootball

Marquinhos, 31-year-old central defender and captain of Paris Saint-Germain, stopped in the mixed zone after the 2-3 victory against AS Monaco (video highlights Monaco/PSG) this Tuesday at the Stade Louis II as part of the first leg of the 2025-2026 Champions League playoffs (return leg on February 25).

Marquinhos: "We don’t change anything."

A win that feels good?

I think every win feels good, it gives confidence. We started the match badly, we made mistakes in duels and positioning that led to conceding goals. But that’s how our team is. Even when we’re losing 2-0, 5-0, if we win, if the match is tough, if the match is easy, we don’t change anything. That’s our philosophy.

Once again, we showed the mentality to overcome a match here. It’s very difficult. The last matches here have always been complicated. The victory gives us confidence for what’s next. I hope we’ll keep going on this path.

Any regrets about not going up to 4 or 5 goals?

Yes. We had chances, we had a lot of time with one more player. But the most important thing was the victory. If we had made it 4-2, it wouldn’t have changed anything for the return leg, we would have had the same mentality to attack in the second leg to win. It won’t change our mentality.

Marquinhos: "He changed the match."

Did Doué change the match?

Yes, that’s why he was named man of the match. I think it’s the best way to respond, with hard work. We talked a lot this week, about the team and about working hard. He’s a great kid and a great player, with a great mentality. It’s normal to have tough moments, I’ve seen great players come to PSG and be criticized.

It’s always mentality and hard work that pay off. That’s what he did today. He started on the bench and came on with a good mentality, good energy. He changed the match, he was very decisive. It’s great to have a player like him.

Marquinhos: "The most important thing is to talk, to be honest with ourselves."

Progress in the team’s mental strength?

In the first minutes, we made mistakes. We talked, we corrected things, and our positioning was much better after that. There were offensive and defensive details to fix. After that, they barely had any chances. We managed to turn the match in our favor. Mistakes can happen. The most important thing is to talk, to be honest with ourselves. That’s what we did. We corrected mistakes, and it brought us something extra.

Marquinhos: "Whether we’re one down or one up, we have to look to win"

Is the team mentally indestructible?

(smiles) No one is indestructible. But we have this mentality that is worked on by the coach. That’s our philosophy. He pushes us for that, he likes that. We’ve had tough matches, others easier. He’s always very demanding, nothing should change, whether we’re one down or one up, we have to look to win, be aggressive, try to control the match, have possession.

No matter the opponent or the match. We’re not perfect, we’re human. Sometimes we’re better, sometimes we’re not as good, sometimes we’re more efficient than others, there’s no indestructible team.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.