Luis Enrique says PSG are fuelled by brilliant memories of Munich ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern, with the French champions determined to attack rather than defend their slim lead.
Luis Enrique believes PSG can tap into the power of happy Munich memories as they prepare for Wednesday’s blockbuster Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
PSG travel to Germany carrying a slender 5-4 advantage from an extraordinary first leg in Paris, but the margin remains dangerously narrow after Bayern’s late fightback ensured the tie is still hanging in the balance.
For the French champions, however, Munich is not just another away venue. It is the city where PSG finally captured their first-ever Champions League title last May, dismantling Inter Milan 5-0 in a historic final that ended decades of European frustration.
Luis Enrique admitted that simply returning to the Allianz Arena naturally stirs powerful emotions within the squad, while it also provides him personally with another layer of confidence given his own past success on the same stage.
“Of course, we have brilliant memories here,” the PSG manager said ahead of the showdown. “Coming back to Munich will always be a real pleasure because we can remember what we experienced last year. And if I go a bit further back to when I was Barcelona coach, the year we won the Champions League, we played in the semi-final here against Bayern in the second leg and then went on to win the final. So that is another source of motivation for me.”
Semi-final second leg gameday in Munich! ⚔️#FCBPSG I #UCL pic.twitter.com/te3u0gPhpG
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 6, 2026
The first leg in Paris was one of the most chaotic and entertaining matches of the season. PSG surged from behind to build a 5-2 lead, only for Bayern to roar back late and reduce the deficit to a single goal. Because of that dramatic finish, Luis Enrique expects another fiercely contested encounter rather than a cagey tactical chess match.
He rejected the common idea that second legs usually become more cautious affairs, insisting that neither side has shown any willingness to accept inferiority. In his view, the psychology of this tie makes another open battle almost inevitable because both clubs believe they can impose themselves.
Crucially, the Spaniard made it clear that PSG will not arrive in Munich looking to simply protect what they have. Despite holding the aggregate lead, he stressed that his team’s identity remains rooted in attacking football and that their objective is to win the match outright rather than survive it.
“As a team, we have the same target as in every away game,” Luis Enrique said. “That is our mentality — we try to win every game. We don’t need to play for a particular result because we just want to win tomorrow. We know Bayern can get back into it and we can also score goals, and we are certainly not here to defend.”
