Luis Enrique said he had never experienced a match like it after Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-4 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
The reigning European champions will go to the Allianz Arena for next week’s second leg with a one-goal advantage, having been pegged back after storming into a 5-2 lead.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele scored two goals apiece, with Joao Neves also on target, as PSG edged the highest-scoring semi-final match in Champions League history.
Even dating back to the European Cup, the only other semi-final game to contain nine goals was a 6-3 win for Eintracht Frankfurt over Rangers in 1959-60.
Only four Champions League games have contained more goals overall: Borussia Dortmund 8-4 Legia Warsaw in 2016, Monaco 8-3 Deportivo La Coruna in 2003, Bayern 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb in 2024 and Bayern 8-2 Barcelona in 2020.
It was the first time that both teams had scored four goals in a semi-final in any European competition, and just the second time it had occurred in a Champions League knockout-stage match, after Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool in the 2008-09 quarter-finals.
“We showed what types of teams we are. I’ve never experienced a match with this intensity and such a desire to win,” Luis Enrique told Canal+.
“The fans of both teams are happy to see this type of show. Physically, we haven’t given up. I’ve never seen a rhythm like this.
“We have to congratulate both teams and all the players. When you’re three goals ahead, the opponent will take a lot of risks, and they’re at a very high level.
“It was complicated, and it will be the same in the second leg. This is only the third game they have lost this season. We’re happy. Both teams have developed their personalities.”
The victory was a landmark one for Luis Enrique, who has reached 50 wins in just 77 Champions League matches – the fewest games required by any manager to reach that mark in the competition.
Bayern, meanwhile, have already come through an end-to-end tie in the quarter-finals, beating Real Madrid 6-4 on aggregate following a 4-3 second-leg win.
They have conceded three or more goals in consecutive European Cup or Champions League matches for the first time since a run of three in October and November 1973. They went on to win the trophy for the first time that season.
And centre-back Dayot Upamecano, who scored for Bayern, is certain the Bundesliga champions will be ready for next week’s decider, saying: “We wanted to win, that’s for sure.
“There is one game left, at home, and nothing is decided. It will be a match for the big boys, a very intense match with a lot of duels.
“But we’re going to do everything we can to show that we’re at home. Nothing is decided. They will have to come to the Allianz Arena, and we will defend our colours.”
