Qualification: “I am satisfied and happy, I think the team continued to do what it has been doing since the start of the season, being bold, ambitious, aiming for victory. We played a very good match and everything went as expected, with a good attitude from the players.”
Kylian Mbappé: “You don’t need to manage it, it manages itself. Perhaps he had a more fixed positioning than usual. I always said that he had total freedom, but he was more fixed on the left wing this time because it was interesting for the team and because we wanted to leave him in a good situation in the last third of the land. And in the last third, when you leave Mbappé facing the opposing goal, it’s lethal.”
Ousmane Dembélé’s positioning: “Our objective was clearly to generate superiority inside the game with Dembélé. I think we did it very well. We had chances, which allowed us to overcome the pressure and put our attackers in a favorable position. Overall the team was very good. We put real pressure on Real.”
Champions League goals: “None of the other seven teams will have more enthusiasm than Paris Saint Germain. We have no pressure. We have never won the Champions League. You have to ask the opponents, but I think no one wants to fall against PSG. There will certainly be no low-level team, on the contrary. I believe that dynamics are very important in this competition. For example, Real Sociedad were arguably one of the best teams in the group stage. We met them at a more delicate moment for them while our team is clearly improving. In terms of knowing how far we will go, we go into quarters with a lot of enthusiasm and wanting to continue moving forward.”
The style of play: “My teams are characterized by their aggressiveness, we stayed one against one in the middle with 45 meters behind us without problem. We could have obtained better results away from home in C1 since the start of the season. We hadn’t won yet but I wasn’t worried, in the attitude, in the behavior, in the ambition, I think this team showed that they could beat anyone.
La Real: “It would undoubtedly have been more complicated if we had faced Real in September… In the first leg, they were closer to scoring than us in the first half. It was a wonderful evening, a magnificent stadium.
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The pressure of the C1: “Since my arrival, it’s as if it’s the trophy to win but it can’t be pressure, let’s not add pressure to the team. It’s the opposite, it must be an excitement for the supporters, for us of course. Let’s not be afraid! What a handicap to put pressure on yourself, especially since it’s one of the youngest teams in the Champions League, the youngest I think… This goal must not become a burden. It has to remain enthusiasm, motivation, it’s something you want and from there we have no problem competing with anyone.”
Comments collected at a press conference