before the semi-final return, the reasons for hope for the Parisians

FOOTBALL – The statistics are pessimistic for PSG. Since the summer of 2021, only 32% of teams who lost the away leg have qualified for the next round of a European football cup. But this is precisely what happened to the Parisians in the semi-final of the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund.

Beaten 1-0 in Germany six days ago, Luis Enrique’s players must absolutely win this Tuesday, May 7 if they want to see the final against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, on June 1 at Wembley. “We have already booked the hotel in London”however, smiles Alain Roche, winner of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996 with PSG and now consultant* for Canal+.

A few hours before the match, the former midfielder explains to us why he believes in the qualification of Kylian Mbappé’s teammates.

HuffPost. Do you understand the serenity that emanated from the Parisian speeches after the first leg?

Alain Roche. Yes, completely. It’s a team that is rather confident, already champion of France, which scored 4 goals against Barcelona even if it was 11 against 10 for more than an hour. But it is above all the end of the first leg, and the number of clear chances for PSG in the second half, which gives a lot of hope. They showed that they can compete and even be better than Dortmund at times. And playing the return match at home gives an additional argument to say that it will pass.

You who have played so often at the Parc des Princes, what do you expect from the public?

I hope that all the stands will be in unison, that it won’t just be the two corners to create a huge atmosphere. The Park is always there, but it’s up to the players to show emotion and show that they want to. If the players do the job, if they win the match, the public will be behind it. I have no worries.

For Kylian Mbappé, this match will be the last match in the PSG jersey in the Champions League in Paris. Do you think this changes anything?

It’s additional motivation, but above all because it’s a match which opens the doors to the Holy Grail, the Champions League final. I think we will have Mbappé overmotivated by the idea of ​​being decisive. I only hope that this will not result in too much selfishness as can happen to very great players capable of making the differences alone. He must not lock himself away, but I know he will have opportunities because he had them on the first leg. And he is a player who, as soon as he was criticized, always knew how to respond.

To do this, should he play in the center as in the first leg or on the left side as with the France team?

Whether we are consultants or journalists, we all have the same problem with Luis Enrique: he is unreadable. So really, I don’t know what he’s going to do. It is possible that he wants to change by putting Mbappé on the left with Ramos in the middle, having in mind that he absolutely must win the match. But it is also possible that he puts the same team back and says to himself that, yes, certain players were not at their level in the first leg, but that they will be in the return. Honestly, he’s capable of anything.

What is certain is that there will be no Lucas Hernandez, injured in the knee. Does this worry you or do you say to yourself that Paris must win to qualify anyway?

You have to attack, yes, but be careful because Dortmund is an efficient team that knows how to play in rapid transition. She has fast players, Karim Adeyemi and Jadon Sancho showed it in the first leg. The absence of a player like Hernandez is really detrimental because even if he missed the goal in the first leg, he is a player with character, aggressive and complementary with Marquinhos. It has nothing to do with Beraldo. Replacing him with Danilo Pereira seems more relevant to me.

*Alain Roche will be present in the show Football day on Canal+ football ahead of the match this Tuesday, May 7 from 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast on the same channel from 9 p.m.

Also see on The HuffPost: