Player says Champions League trophy is “cherry on the top” for the Parisian club
Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos is determined not to let a second chance at Champions League glory slip away as his team prepare to face Inter Milan in Saturday’s final at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Bayern Munich beat PSG 1-0 in the 2020 final to deny them the prize in their first appearance on the big stage, but Marquinhos, the only member of the current Parisian team who played in that final, sees Saturday night as a rare instance of lightning striking twice.
“We’ve been through highs, we’ve been through lows,” Marquinhos told reporters. “Tomorrow we’ve got a beautiful opportunity. We could go down in history. This would be great for the club, for the players. This is my second chance to win a Champions League final and I’m not going to go down without a fight.”
Strangely, if the old format of the Champions League had still been in use, there is a possibility that PSG would not have made it through to the knockout rounds. They had a poor showing in the earlier stages of the league phase, losing three and drawing one of their opening five games.
However, they managed to progress on the final day. Since then, they’ve secured the Ligue 1 title with six games to spare and clinched the French Cup, setting the stage for a potential treble.
“We’re going to pull out the performance of a lifetime tomorrow on the pitch because it will be very difficult and actually we’ve had to fight all season now to get to the final,” said Marquinhos.
“We’ve done everything we can to get to the final of the Champions League. This is the best moment of our season. It’s that cherry on the top and it’s up to us now. We need to take the silverware back to Paris so that we can share this with our fans who have supported us over the season.
“Time is of the essence now, we’re going for the silverware tomorrow and we’re going to take it home.”
