Barcelona ‘have an amazing philosophy’ and were too much for PSG, says David Luiz

Speaking with Andy Mitten after Paris Saint-Germain's loss to Barca in the Champions League on Tuesday, David Luiz said, 'it's better to die trying and I think we did that ... they were better than us'.

Paris Saint-Germain defender David Luiz tries to track down Lionel Messi on Tuesday night during their Champions League quarter-final second leg contest. Quique Garcia / AFP / April 21, 2015

BARCELONA // Paris Saint-Germain defender David Luiz offered no excuses after his side were eliminated from the Uefa hampions League by Barcelona on Tuesday night, losing 2-0 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate.

“They had a fantastic match, they controlled the game and they have an amazing philosophy to play football,” the Brazilian told The National. “It’s difficult to play against a team like this, especially when you are without four or five important players in the first game. They deserved to win and be in another semi-final because they were better in both games.”

Luiz, who was booked after three minutes for a late tackle on Ivan Rakitic, was criticised for his performance, with former Manchester United player Roy Keane saying on British television: “I actually feel sorry for him. He doesn’t smell danger and the stuff there is literally schoolboy stuff.

“You’ve got to give the boy sympathy, a little bit, because he doesn’t look like he knows what he’s doing.”

Luiz, a €50 million (Dh276.6m) signing from Chelsea last year, brushed aside criticism and preferred to credit Barcelona for their efforts.

“Barca are improving at exactly the right moment and are a favourite to win the competition,” he said. “They’ve had an amazing team for a long time, they understand their philosophy and each player knows exactly what to do on the pitch. They spent a lot of money for a lot of years.

“We didn’t have a good result in the first leg so it was always going to be very difficult to come here. We still had opportunities in that first leg though.

“In the second, we tried to do our best, to have character. It’s better to die trying and I think we did that, but Barca controlled the game. If you don’t play well against an opponent like this then they can kill you. They were better than us. Sometimes football is like that.”

Luiz is still satisfied with his side’s run to the last eight.

“We had an amazing Champions League until these two games. We beat Chelsea, my old club who are always one of the favourites. But we need to improve if we’re going to win the competition.”

PSG return to league action on Saturday with a home game against Lille. They are joint leaders of Ligue 1 with Lyon, though Laurent Blanc's side have a game in hand with six matches to play.

“Our season is not over,” said Luiz. “We won the League Cup and we’re still in two competitions: the league and the French Cup final against Auxerre. We can still win the treble.”

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