Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has taken sole responsibility for his team’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League after Tuesday night’s defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
The French champions were beaten one-nil home and away in the semifinals by Dortmund, who sealed a 2-0 aggregate win to progress to their first Champions League final in eleven years.
Enrique, 54, who is in his first season with PSG, told reporters after the game that he is very proud of the players and that he is responsible for the defeat.
“The only person responsible for this defeat, for this elimination, is the coach who has made the decisions, who has decided, and he would make the same decisions in the two matches,” the former Barcelona coach said when asked if any player could have done better in the game.
“It would be unfortunate if anyone were to question any of the players. I’m very proud of all of them, and let’s think about the Toulouse game, which will be our last home game; we want to close the season as the fans deserve and as all the people who are part of the club deserve.”
Thank you for this European journey.
We’ll be back stronger in the @ChampionsLeague 🔴🔵#PSGBVB 0️⃣-1️⃣ I #UCL pic.twitter.com/ixfgc6HjwF
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 7, 2024
Mats Hummels scored the only goal at the Parc des Princes, where PSG failed to find the back of the net despite managing 30 shots at the visitor’s goal.
Although only five of those were on target, they struck the woodwork four times, and Enrique showed his frustration during the post-match presser when a reporter asked him if there was an analytical reason for how much they hit the woodwork.
“Are you serious about this question? Are you serious?” he asked. “There’s a difference between hitting the post and going in. What does it depend on? It could be the Holy Spirit walking around (being ironic). If one team were unlucky, it was the Paris Saint Germain. Three goals were expected in this game, three goals.”
PSG have already been crowned Ligue 1 champions, and they will play their final home game of the season when they take on Toulouse in a league match on Sunday.
