Frank Lampard has praised the ‘quality’ and ‘skill’ on show in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League semi-final first leg victory over Bayern Munich, hailing the contest as one of the best games of football he has ever seen.
PSG and Bayern produced a European contest for the ages on Tuesday evening, with a raucous Parc des Princes crowd treated to nine goals across a truly unforgettable tie.
Luis Enrique’s side, the holders, had appeared to have put one foot in this year’s final as Ousmane Dembele scored his second of the night to make it 5-2 with half-an-hour remaining.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had completed a brace of his own just moments earlier after a thrilling first half under the lights in Paris, in which Joao Neves, Harry Kane and Michael Olise had also netted.
But the visitors dug deep and were rewarded for their efforts as Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz both scored in the space of three minutes to ensure Vincent Kompany’s men trail by just one goal ahead of the sides’ second meeting in Munich.
Facing the media once the dust had settled on his side’s 5-4 win, PSG head coach Enrique said the game was ‘without doubt’ the best game he had ever been involved in as a manager.
‘I have never seen a match with this kind of intensity,’ the Spaniard told reporters at his post-match press conference.
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‘This is not the time to point out flaws. We just need to congratulate everyone.
‘We deserved to win, we deserved to draw and we deserved to lose today.
‘It was a fantastic match. It has been, without a doubt, the best match I have ever been involved in as a coach.’
The triumphant team will lock horns in the year’s final with the winner of Arsenal’s semi-final Atleti, which is evenly poised after last night’s 1-1 draw in Madrid
Speaking to talkSPORT two days on from Tuesday’s classic in Paris, Chelsea legend Lampard delivered his reaction to a first-leg encounter that will be remembered for years to come.
‘I loved watching that game, I loved watching it. The speed and the quality of things done, highly skilled things done at the top level, two teams going at each other,’ the Coventry City head coach said.
‘We talk a lot and I’ve been listening to the shows about the Premier League and how some games have become a bit of a chess match and teams stopping each other.
‘That’s fine, our job as coaches is to find out whatever your way is, but to see two coaches, to see that talent across the pitch, to see them going head-to-head…
‘I heard the stuff about bad defending in the game and, of course, there was some defending that you might question because when you take risks you leave yourself one-on-one.
‘But as a product, as something to watch, it was one of the best games I’ve ever seen of football. I absolutely loved it.’
Lampard is pleased to see Kompany proving his managerial credentials on the big stage and believes his former Manchester City team-mate is fully deserving of his position on the top table.
‘People will say it’s easy when you work with top-level players and, of course, there’s a degree of that,’ the ex-England and Chelsea midfielder explained.
‘But Vincent Kompany, for instance, or Luis Enrique, but I know Vinny a bit, he deserves to be in that job because of the work he’s done so you get those players.
Who will win this year's Champions League?
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Arsenal
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Atletico Madrid
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Bayern Munich
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PSG
‘I like what he said after the game. He’s talking about the bad defending in the game and what the game looked like, saying, “What do you want? Do you want to watch something like that where players are all in?”
‘I’m not comparing us to Bayern Munich or PSG by the way but at Coventry we’ve been all in in our way we want to be and I’ve always felt confident that we can get back into games even when we’re losing, and we’ve done it.
‘We saw that done at the highest level the other day. A team that know what they’re doing, believe in what they’re doing, and just going at it. What a great thing it was to watch.’
Turning his attentions to the challenges that await at Coventry, Lampard is under no illusions about the size of the task at hand and the ‘work to be done’ in preparation for the club’s return to the Premier League.
‘In terms of the summer, there’s a lot of work to be done,’ Lampard explained, with the Sky Blues securing promotion after a 25-year absence from the top flight.
‘There’s no doubt when you come up as a non-parachute team with players who aren’t as experienced.
‘I know the gap well because I’ve played in it the Premier League a lot.
‘I’ve managed a team fighting for the Champions League with Chelsea, I’ve managed in a relegation battle at Everton.
“I understand there’s lots of conversations [to be had]. The owner has been very keen on us all enjoying and celebrating in these last couple of weeks, and I agree with that, we can live in the moment.’
Lampard added: ‘The next job for the football club is, “Okay, what do we need to do?”, because we’ve risen quite quickly in these last 18 months.
‘A lot of amazing groundwork by Mark Robins but the differences that are coming upon the football club now and the step is big so it has to be done well, so that will be the job.’
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