PARIS — Luis Enrique mocked Ligue 1’s status as a “farmers’ league” after Paris Saint-Germain sealed a place in the Champions League final with a 3-1 semifinal aggregate win against Arsenal — a win which completed a clean sweep against Premier League teams this season.
Having won last week’s first leg 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium, PSG completed the job in Parc des Princes with goals from Fabián Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi before Bukayo Saka scored a 76th minute consolation for Arsenal.
After sealing the Ligue 1 title last month, PSG can now complete the treble if they beat Reims in the Coupe de France final on May 24 before facing Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Munich a week later.
But after being told that PSG have reached the Champions League final — the club’s second appearance after losing to Bayern Munich in Lisbon in 2020 — after defeating four Premier League teams (Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal),Luis Enrique joked that the “farmers’ league” — a disparaging label applied to Ligue 1 — had come out on top.
Luis Enrique has joked about Ligue 1’s label as a farmer’s league Lars Baron – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
“The league of farmers, no? We are the league of farmers,” Luis Enrique told TNT Sports. “But it’s nice. We are enjoying the result and the compliments of everybody speaking of our team — our mentality, how we play. It’s nice.
“Mikel Arteta is a great friend, but I don’t agree at all [that Arsenal deserved to win]. They play the way they want and love to play, but in the two legs, we scored more goals than them and that is the most important thing.
“Arsenal played a great match and we suffered a lot, but we deserve to get to the final.
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“How are you going to win a Champions League without a great goalkeeper? Today, Gigi [Gianluigi Donnarumma] was phenomenal, as he was in every qualifying round, like against Liverpool.
“How are you going to win the Champions League without a good defence? They were phenomenal today.”
PSG lost three of their first five League Phase games and seemed to be heading out of the competition in January.
But Luis Enrique, who guided Barcelona to Champions League glory in 2015, said that their 4-2 win against Man City in Paris in January was the turning point of their campaign.
PSG will face Inter Milan in the Champions League final THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images
“The turning point could have been the match against Manchester City in which we were losing 0-2,” Luis Enrique said.
“But in the group stage statistics, we were among the best in Europe. We are fair finalists.
“It means a lot. Everybody was dreaming with getting to a Champions League final and our first goal when we arrived in Paris was to make history and we are on the right path.”
PSG face Inter in the final after the Serie A champions eliminated Barcelona in their semifinal and Luis Enrique said it will be a difficult encounter for his team.
“Inter are more experienced than us, older players, but we want to win trophies and we will have that mentality for the final,” Luis Enrique said.
“It is going to be tough, but they will have same final. An interesting final — very difficult for both teams. A special moment for us and them also.
“It is their second final in three years, so they are are a great team. We have time to plan, but now is the time to celebrate.”
