Ousmane Dembele surprisingly claimed that he “loves” Barcelona despite being booed incessantly during his Champions League return with PSG.
Dembele, who departed from Barcelona last summer, played a pivotal role in Paris Saint-Germain’s remarkable comeback on Spanish soil as the Parisians rode on the back of his goal just before half-time after Raphinha scored an early opener in the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Tuesday night.
PSG capitalised on their momentum after the break, against a 10-man Barcelona, with Vitinha and Kylian Mbappe scoring two quick goals to take the lead in the tie.
Despite being reduced to ten men after Ronald Araujo was given his marching orders, Barcelona attempted to claw their way back into the quarter-final and came close through Ilkay Gundogan, whose strike hit the outside of the post.
However, the Catalan club’s fate was sealed when Mbappe netted a fourth goal late in the game to complete a memorable comeback and seal a last-four berth.
Barcelona fans did their best to unsettle Dembele, whistling whenever the Frenchman got on the ball as he played a vital role in their downfall, after being deployed on the right wing by Luis Enrique.
When questioned about the reception from Barcelona fans, Dembele replied: “The welcome given to me?
“I experienced it very well because I already experienced it in 2021 of being whistled here in Barcelona.
“I am not going to change my game for whistles.
“Also, I stayed focused.
“I gave it my all. Barca is a great club.
“I love Barcelona… and I understand the whistles. That’s life”.
Optimism
Dembele insisted that there was a belief within his team-mates that they could turn around their fortunes in Spain despite losing the first leg at Parc des Princes.
“Everyone believed [we could qualify], even if we lost the first leg 3-2,” he said.
“We didn’t give up; we knew we were going to score goals here. A big shift from the whole team.
“We worked the entire week, tactically, with the coach.
“His tactics were perfect.
“Even though we conceded the first goal, we didn’t let our heads drop. We continued to believe.”
With this victory, Paris Saint-Germain, who have yet to win the Champions League, will advance to face Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals after the German side eliminated Atletico Madrid in another thrilling tie.
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Looking ahead to the semi-finals, Dembele expressed optimism, stating that “it’s a big thing.
“The last time we were in the semis, we got to the final.
“We’re crossing our fingers that we can do the same this year and get to Wembley.
“We’ll have to recover in time for Lyon at the weekend, then we’ll look ahead to the semi-final”.
