There are just five days left until the long-awaited UEFA Champions League final and both Vitinha and Luis Enrique gave a small preview of that PSG match with Arsenal (French champion against English champion), both remembering last year’s tie in which they eliminated the English in the semi-finals (1-0 in London and 2-1 in Paris).
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Vitinha refused to compare when asked if his team had improved from 2024/25 to 2025/26. «It’s difficult to say. We are practically the same players, the same coach, the same idea and style of play. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about which team is better. Do you know? But I would say they are two strong teams,” he said, speaking to TNT Sports, recalling that they lost the finals game last season (0-2).
«Favourites? I don’t think so. The Champions League final is the Champions League final. Last year we played them three times, once in the league stage as well. And then we eliminated them in the semi-finals. So I don’t think so. Last year, like I said, is last year, that’s different. It’s just one game, that’s the Champions League final. Let’s be ready. We have to be ready and we will be”, guaranteed the Portuguese international.
“This is different… This is Champions League final” Vitinha says PSG’s victory over Arsenal last year doesn’t mean anything, and they need to be ready to beat them again 💪 pic.twitter.com/7Fh ANde Ff M
Luis Enrique addressed the possibility of not having so much possession of the ball, because that is how Arsenal prefers to play, also comparing with the three recent games. «I think we can do a lot more things than last year, but we did it because they forced us to do it. We prefer to have the ball, but you have to adapt because the other side is better during these moments of the game. You have to adapt, defend yourself even better», he explained, also analyzing the defensive aspect of the current season.
“I think we did that, we clearly defended much better against Chelsea than in the last Club World Cup final. We performed better against Liverpool and did the same against Bayern. We defended much better in the second game than in the first. I think we can improve, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to keep the ball and try to play with the same idea. But being much more powerful in defense, I think that was key», he added.
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