Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique said both his team and Liverpool deserved a berth in the Champions League quarterfinals, such was the terrific, nail-biting battle between the two sides in the competition's last-16.
The Spaniard beamed with pride about how his squad rallied from being a goal down after last week's first leg to dispatch Premier League-leading Liverpool 4-1 in a penalty shootout at Anfield on Tuesday.
"Both of the teams deserved to go to the next phase, they play better than us here, but I think my team at Anfield, in a special stadium, showed great personality and character," he said.
"We tried to play our best, but it was difficult as they're so intense. Both teams deserved to qualify. The character and personality, even when we shoot at the penalty shootout they showed great character. I think it shows clearly the team we are."
Ligue 1 leaders PSG have never won the Champions League, losing to Bayern Munich in the 2020 final, while 2019 winners Liverpool were considered the favourites to advance after topping the table through the eight-game league phase.
"When the draw told us about the match against Liverpool and PSG, both managers thought the same – one of the best matches you can watch in Europe," Luis Enrique said. "I think both teams were great.
"We are happy and confident to go to the next phase."
PSG earned huge praise from pundits for their hard-fought victory.
"You've seen four perfect penalties under extreme pressure, you've got to give PSG big credit," former England striker Alan Shearer said on the Amazon Prime broadcast.
"The disappointment of losing that first game and playing really, really well and coming back to Anfield and soaking up pressure and then taking it to extra time and penalties and seeing those four perfect penalties, they've really put in a magnificent effort over the two games and they'll say they deserve to go through."