Alessandro Florenzi warns Manchester City ‘they have not won the war yet’ despite Champions League fightback in Paris as defender calls on PSG to have ’11 warriors ready to die on the pitch’ in semi-final return leg
- Alessandro Florenzi has warned Manchester City ahead of their second leg
- City earned a huge first leg victory at PSG after a second half turnaround
- PSG star Florenzi says French side ‘need 11 warriors ready to die on the pitch’
- The Italian warned Pep Guardiola’s side that ‘they have not won the war yet’
Alessandro Florenzi has warned Manchester City they ‘have not won the war yet’ after the PSG defender issued a rallying cry to his team-mates following their defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side.
The Premier League leaders left Paris victorious in their Champions League semi final first leg on Wednesday, coming from behind to secure a 2-1 win to take control of the tie.
Second half strikes from Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez has given Guardiola’s side two important away goals heading into next Tuesday’s second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
PSG star Alessandro Florenzi has warned Manchester City they ‘have not won the war yet’
The Premier League leaders took control of their semi final tie with a huge 2-1 win in Paris
The Parisians fell apart after half time as City took control, with Idrissa Gueye given his marching orders for a horror tackle on Ilkay Gundogan, and Florenzi conceded that Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost their way.
‘We lost our shape, it’s not like us,’ he told Sky Sport Italia. ‘We are 22 talented players on the pitch, it’s a battle for 90 minutes.
‘The first goal was a little fortunate, the second went through the wall. Details make the difference at this level.
‘However, we’re only halfway through the battle, they haven’t won the war yet.’
And Florenzi says PSG need ’11 warriors ready to die on the pitch’ when they meet on Tuesday
PSG have been strong on the road in the Champions League this season, securing big wins away to Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Florenzi hopes that his side s can maintain their strong performances away from the French capital next week
‘We hope to continue the trend of away wins. It won’t be easy, but this team has what it takes to win in Manchester. We need 11 warriors ready to die on the pitch.’
Florenzi’s sentiments were echoed by captain Marquinhos, who had put the hosts ahead with a superb header from an Angel di Maria corner.
The French side have taken big scalps on the road this season and will need to do so again
‘We will need personality, he who does not believe that we can do it shouldn’t even make the trip over there,’ he told RMC Sport.
‘We will need a warrior mentality, do everything required to go through. We are very close, we must not doubt it now.
‘We conceded two very stupid goals, these are details, this is the Champions League. We have to better manage these little details and remain strong in goal situations.
‘It is true that the second half, we were too far back, we were not able to find a way out of our half, the City team was more aggressive, they played higher. We still have 90 minutes but we will have to do better to head to the final.’
