Mental resilience key to PSG reaching semis

ATLANTA — Much has been made of European champion Paris Saint-Germain's attacking flair, its rapid and dangerous wingers and thrilling style, but what carried it through to the Club World Cup semifinals on Saturday was a dose of resilience.

Luis Enrique's side beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in Atlanta with just nine men at the end, after late red cards for Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez.

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made several good saves to help the French treble winner progress to the final four, where it will meet a familiar face in Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe.

PSG captain Marquinhos said the team's mentality was vital to its hopes of adding more silverware to the trophy cabinet.

"It was a game that taught us lessons, a game that brought us out of our comfort zone," the Brazilian defender told reporters.

" (It showed) the mentality of our group, it's something we talk about a lot — winning is very hard, and to keep winning is even harder.

"That's our mentality today, to show we are always hungry, that we always want to go further."

Enrique explained that his team's work over the past year has contributed to its growing resilience.

"This goes back to the season that we played, we suffered together... we displayed a true team spirit," said the Spaniard.

"We may win, we may lose, we may have a draw, but our attitude, our actions are there."

PSG won the Champions League for the first time in its history in May after a tricky run to the final, including a last-16 triumph over Liverpool on penalties.

Donnarumma was the hero as PSG dug deep at Anfield in March and ousted Arne Slot's side, which was among the favorites to win the trophy.

"We even went to Liverpool looking for a result — you need a very good mentality. Today, again, with two fewer men, we were all together on the pitch, defending as a team, helping each other out there," said Marquinhos.

"When the (first) red card happened, I looked at my teammates and I saw they were pumped up to defend together.

"We talked to each other, we said 'we'll defend, we won't concede goals, this game is ours and we'll defend hard to the end'.

"I knew nothing would happen — we said: 'our team is very strong in this moment... it doesn't matter what happens, mentally we're ready'."

In fact, with PSG down to nine men and leading through a goal from Desire Doue, it held off Bayern and added a second through Ousmane Dembele.

The Parisians also impressed against Arsenal in the Champions League semifinals, resisting Mikel Arteta's side in the first leg to claim a hard-fought 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.

It fell two goals down in the Coupe de France semifinal against Dunkerque, before bouncing back to win 4-2 on the way to claiming the trophy.

Enrique said that his squad had a "great ability" to manage difficult moments after that Cup win in April, and the coach again praised his team for its strength to hold on against Bayern.

"It's a team that has resilience. Our supporters, they have great resilience," said Enrique.

"We are a team that is ready to compete at all times, no matter the result."

Marquinhos said the former Spain and Barcelona coach's work was a key reason for the improvement in the club's mental strength.

Previous PSG sides have been littered with star names, but lacked the nous and grit to triumph on the biggest occasions.

"The key is our coach, he has brought his philosophy, he's brought with him his mentality, he has prepared the team very well from the first day he arrived," said Marquinhos.

AFP