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Paris look to push on from Barcelona triumph

Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc says beating FC Barcelona can give their season fresh impetus, Luis Enrique acknowledging the French side "withstood the pressure".

Van der Wiel’s Paris joy

Paris believe thrilling win against Barcelona can kick-start their season
Laurent Blanc says "we needed a match like this to find our values"
Gracious Luis Enrique points to mistakes "when building from the back" as crucial
Match winner Blaise Matuidi: "When we fight for each other, we can beat anyone"
Barcelona point to set-piece vulnerability as their undoing at Parc des Princes

Laurent Blanc, Paris coach
This win leaves me with a lot of satisfaction. We had little time to prepare for this match and we've had a slow start to the season, but we worked a lot. I told the players we would need to pull off a great collective performance. We needed a match like this one to rediscover the values which contributed to our successes last season. Tonight, we found again a very good Paris team.

I will remember this win, but I think the players and fans will too. These kind of nights are the reason why you do this job. They are difficult and complicated, but it adds spice to the game. And when the result is a win, you're really very satisfied.

We analysed a lot of Barcelona matches, and let me repeat what I said in the pre-match conference: they are very strong, but they often leave some space at the back and give you opportunities. Tonight we managed to put them in great danger when we had the ball. We were clinical as a whole; some players were devilishly clinical.

Luis Enrique, Barcelona coach
We were confronted with a team which is at the same level as us and they withstood the pressure. This was an interesting match. We [moved] from one end to the other, and that may have had an impact on us, as we couldn't manage to find a solution in the last 25 minutes. We could have levelled the score: I'm not saying this loss isn't deserved, but a draw could have been fair.

Blaise Matuidi celebrates victory
Blaise Matuidi celebrates victory©AFP/Getty Images

We made some mistakes while building from the back, mistakes that we simply can't afford against opponents of this calibre, who are very strong at set pieces. Paris did not surprise me: I know their potential. They are candidates for the Champions League title.

When we lose, I do not pass judgment on individual players: it's the entire team that lost. The main responsibility of this loss is mine. The players showed a good attitude.

Blaise Matuidi, Paris midfielder
This was a great Paris performance this evening, against a team that were  unbeaten and hadn't conceded any goals. Today they conceded three, so that shows the quality we have. We played as a team and didn't let anything go against a great side. We're very proud of what we did and it proves we have a great team. When we decide to fight for each other, we can beat anyone. We knew we could cause them problems from set pieces.

On a personal level, I'm happy to have scored against Barça. It's my second goal against them, so they're a good team for me, but what's most important is that we won and everyone fought for the victory. We hope this can be a turning point in our season. We'll have to repeat this against Monaco in Ligue 1 on Sunday. You have to be able to continue in the same fashion, and I hope we will.

David Luiz, Paris defender
Everyone gave everything tonight. This game came at the right moment. This was the real Paris and I'm happy about that. It's great to win against a big club, and we've got our first win of the group. The fans created a great atmosphere – I'd like to say thank you, this victory was for them.

Van der Wiel's Paris joy

Lucas, Paris forward
I'm very happy tonight as we beat a great team. I hope we can wake up now. If we can repeat this kind of performance, we're capable of going far. I'm very pleased for Marco Verratti [who scored Paris's second goal] as he's a really great player. He's short like me, but he scored with a header anyway.

Jérémy Mathieu, Barcelona defender
We're disappointed this evening. We came up against a good Paris team who played their hand very well. It was a pretty intense match, and quite a spectacle. We conceded two goals from set pieces. That killed the game a little, and it's Barça's minor weakness – we need to correct that. We'll have our lift ourselves up again quickly. The game came down to small details in the end. We knew we were going to fight with Paris for first place in the group and now we have to get points against Ajax.

Daniel Alves, Barcelona defender
We're disappointed with the result but not so much the performance as there were a lot of positives. We knew it would be a difficult game against a team that plays in a similar style to us. Now we have to make sure we beat Ajax.

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