PSG showed 'personality & character' in comeback win over Villa in QF first leg, says Enrique

Paris, April 10 (IANS) Paris Saint-Germain's coach Luis Enrique said his team showed "personality and character" in the convincing 3-1 win over Aston Villa in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals at the Parc des Princes.

Paris hit back with three superb goals to overturn Morgan Rogers' neat opener and give the Ligue 1 side a 3-1 first-leg lead in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Aston Villa.

"What I enjoyed the most was the mentality. Because I think we started the game very well, we played as we usually do but football is like that and they scored a goal. It was a particularly difficult moment for our confidence. It was kind of a moment of doubt.

"But I think in the end, the team showed personality and character. We're happy because the result is very good, but we'll have to have the right mentality to try and win the second game," Enrique said in the post-match press conference.

"We always say that when you play a match of this importance, you have to control your emotions. It's important because these games have ups and downs. I think the team showed the mentality and character it always has," he added.

A trio of stunning strikes from Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Nuno Mendes earned a comeback success for PSG after Villa stunned the Parc des Princes with Morgan Rogers' 35th-minute opener.

Mendes, the third goalscorer in PSG' win said, "The two-goal lead gives us confidence, but there is another match. We need to rest a bit, keep going for the next game and do the same thing we did today."

"My goal? I saw that the keeper was a bit close, so I tried to do something different and it worked, so I'm very happy about that. We know that the fans are always there, they've been there from the start. Every minute, we know we can count on them and that's what we're going to do," he added.

--IANS

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