PSG v Newcastle: Marquinhos reveals secret to strong finish

In partnership with

Parisfans.fr

·29 January 2026

PSG v Newcastle: Marquinhos reveals secret to strong finish

This Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain played their final group stage match of the Champions League against Newcastle (1-1 video highlights here). Marquinhos, defender and captain of the Parisian team, spoke after the match to PSG TV.

Marquinhos: “Every team has its own philosophy and mentality.”

“We wanted to win to qualify for the top 8, that was our goal today. We played the match we could, with intensity, we created chances, but unfortunately they took advantage of their strengths: counter-attacks, set pieces, aerial balls… That’s it, every team has its own philosophy and mentality. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but we qualified and that’s the positive point of the evening. Now, we’ll play with the cards we have, which means fighting in every match as if it’s a final now, just like we did last year.”

Marquinhos: “We’ll have to fight as if it’s our last match of the season.”

“We’re only going to play finals now, only important matches. We’ve managed to get almost all our players back, Achraf has returned, Ibrahim too. Now we have to move forward, work harder and harder, and gain confidence as a team, like we did last year, so we can achieve our objectives for the second half of the season. It will give us rhythm, more matches to play and build confidence. We have to move forward step by step, and not look too far ahead. We know the road is very, very long, and very difficult. In every match, we’ll have to fight as if it’s our last match of the season.”

A draw for PSG, who had the match in their hands but failed to widen the gap after Newcastle’s equalizer. A disappointing result for the capital club, who could have qualified directly for the round of 16 and enjoyed a longer rest period. As was the case last season, they will now have to play a round of 32, possibly against a tough opponent.

OneFootball Videos

Now, they’ll have to patiently wait for the draw and, above all, hope for better momentum as the Champions League knockout stages approach. The latest results are not reassuring and suggest that anything could happen against any opponent in this competition, of which they are the title holders.

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