The mental approach: “A positive speech after Lille to protect the players? No. It is not a question of protecting them but of experiencing a high-level competition in the most natural way possible. We are arriving at the part of the season where there are the most important matches, the ones you want to play from the start. But the best way to approach them is with tranquility.”

The effects of the turnover on his thinking for the starting 11: “If it disrupted my plans? No. Now is the best time to do it. There are few players who don’t think they have a chance to play. Everyone knows he can come in and be a starter. And that’s my goal. I want a team where everyone is ready and knows they can help the team. This applies to those on the pitch but also on the bench, everyone is important. For me, it’s harder to choose those who play, but it’s positive.”

SEE ALSO – The goals and summary of PSG-Lille on February 10 (3-1)

Kylian Mbappé’s ankle: “If he can start? Yes. (…) When a team has a player like him, the more he plays the better. It’s good for everyone. He could have played (against Lille) if it had been a final, but there was no point in taking a risk. In short, he is available and therefore at the disposal of the coach.

Progress since December: “You like percentages (the question was about the percentage at which PSG has developed compared to its initial idea, Editor’s note), except that it doesn’t exist! We can have a match at 20, another at 100… We are in a learning process which has lasted for several months. We can feel that we are ready to be competitive tomorrow (Wednesday), to create an atmosphere with the supporters which will be the best to face Real Sociedad. We’re ready. It’s a very different competition, it’s not about consistency over time, you have to be better than your opponent over two matches. In the championship, it’s consistency. The C1 or the Coupe de France is very short. But we are ready. As I said before, all players are likely to be starters. That’s the guarantee that says we’re ready.”

Also read: Parc des Princes: behind the battle between Anne Hidalgo and PSG

The Parisian midfielder: “In a team sport, football in particular, you cannot win the Champions League thanks to a single line, a position. You have to have a good team in all three lines and a good state of mind, that’s what we have. When we have the ball, we have 11 attackers, and when we don’t have it, it’s 11 defenders. It’s a cliché but that’s what you can feel when my team plays and it shows that we have the right state of mind.”

Imanol Alguacil: “Six years versus six months, I hope that won’t be the key (smile). Imanol, who I know very well, and an excellent trainer. He is at home in San Sebastian, with a very interesting club philosophy. They have a very efficient training center, from which many very good players come out, they recruit well and are very balanced. They play great football under his command and even before. They reap the fruits of the club’s good work. I congratulate them but I hope they will not play as well in these two C1 matches (smile).”

The favorite PSG (or not) and the ingredients: “We will have to take the ball from them as quickly as possible, and it’s not easy. You have to try not to lose it, and it’s not easy either. Real Sociedad is one of the teams that has conceded the fewest goals in the Champions League. They are an opponent who does not give any favors, they practice aggressive pressing. They are certainly one of the best teams in the competition and that’s why they won their group, ahead of last year’s finalists, Inter Milan. They have a great level. Favorite PSG? I’m not going to answer that. Whether I proclaim us favorites or outsiders, it shows on the pitch. This is where we need to talk.”

Perhaps the der of Kylian Mbappé at the Parc in C1: “Potential last meeting? No. That’s not how I see it. So I feel neither joy nor sadness, nothing in particular compared to usual.”

Comments collected at a press conference