The elimination against Manchester United in 2019
: “It is not a good memory for us, this result against MU… We had a great result at Old Trafford, and it did not end well… A lot of things have exchange.
We had an extraordinary season in the Champions League in 2019-20 and that gives us a lot of confidence.
But it's the challenge of not thinking too much about last season, where we played the final, or the previous one, because that doesn't help.
It's the challenge to start over, to show, to prove our quality again and that we are able to win a very difficult group.
In sport, it's always the same: you start with zero points, zero goals and you still have to prove, start winning again. "
Edinson Cavani and his departure before the “Final 8”
: “I would obviously have liked us to arrive in Portugal with the whole group.
He was decisive for us, against Dortmund for example, to reach the "Final 8".
It was a little sad that it wasn't possible.
It's not just Edi and us, it's also happened to other players in other clubs.
It was a complicated situation with the Covid, the Champions League, the end of the championships ... But that does not change the appointment that awaits us now.
He remains the top scorer in the history of the club, a great personality and a great player, who has made history for our club.
At the same time, it will be a little weird if he plays for another club in the Park, against us… But it is not him alone against us, nor us against him.
We will be very careful because it's always difficult to defend against Edi.
He always has the capacity to make a difference.
He's another player with a lot of qualities in this Manchester United team. ”
Cavani's record career at PSG
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The personality of the Matador
: “He has a great personality, he is one of the best.
He's very polite, almost a little shy, he works hard and can be counted on from the first to the last minute of every game, every practice.
Attackers are sensitive people.
He lives to score.
When he scores and has the confidence, he's one of the best center-forward in the world.
It's clear: if you play for so long at a club like ours and you manage to create the connection that was hers with the supporters, then you have character and you deserve the recognition.
You (the English) will find out that it is exactly like that.
Hope he doesn't show it tomorrow (Tuesday), but from Wednesday he can convince you.
Tomorrow, there's no point in proving myself right (smile). ”
PSG stronger than last year… or not
: “Honestly, I don't know.
We have to prove.
And it's hard to prove because we had a super strong team last season, but it's sport: a new competition begins.
And we have to show the same.
This Champions League 2019-20 is over.
If we are stronger, weaker, that's not the question: we have to show and we will be able to answer this question at the end of the season, but certainly not now. "
"Pogba? He's still a key player, he's one of the best midfielders in the world ”
Manchester United and Paul Pogba
: “They have changed a lot (since 2019), they have new players and the others have more confidence and experience.
Pogba?
He's still a key player, he's one of the best midfielders in the world with his talent.
This is one of the keys to stopping it.
The other key in the middle is Bruno Fernandes, who does a lot of assists in the depth, with Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, three super fast forwards.
It is their strength.
They are one of the best teams in Europe when it comes to offensive transitions.
This is why it is important to stop the counterattacks before the counterattacks (smile).
This is the key for me.
We want to have the ball, play with a lot of possession, it's our style and we want to impose it.
But we have to play with a good structure in attack to do a good counter pressing and stop the blocks before they arrive.
It is the most important.
Pogba, Fernandes, they are key players in the middle.
With Nemanja Matic, it's very strong.
And the three forwards are very fast.
They're good on set pieces too.
These are all key points. ”
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Presnel Kimpembe's progress
: “I've been very happy with Presko for a long time.
He plays very seriously and at a very high level.
Since I've been here, it's always been like that in the Champions League and in the big matches in Ligue 1. If he had small problems of concentration in the "normal" matches, after three or four consecutive matches.
Now, since the end of the championship, in the two cup finals and in Portugal, he has been extraordinary.
He has remained on this level ever since.
For this I am very happy with him.
The challenge is to stay at this extraordinary level.
He has always brought an extraordinary mentality, he plays with courage, a lot of aggression.
And at the same time he always has a smile, he takes advantage of each training to improve.
There were details that changed in training and now he's been super reliable for us for a long time.
I am very happy with him. ”
Exploit the flaws in MU's defense
: “As always, we want to put pressure on the last line, we want to score.
We will always focus on how we are going to attack, what spaces we want to attack, where we want to speed up our game, where we want to show our qualities.
With Angel Di Maria, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, it is clear that we want to focus on this phase.
We are always able to score.
We have regained the pace and confidence.
In the Champions League, we are a very dangerous team.
We want, but at this level, it's always complicated to create chances, to score.
This is the most difficult!
But we're going to try because it's us, and that's how we prepare each match. "
Favorite status
: “It wouldn't change anything if I said yes or no, it wouldn't change the fact that it will be a match at the best level against Manchester and that we still have to show.
The challenge is not to think about the final and the last Champions League.
It was extraordinary, but it passed.
Now we are another team.
It's the challenge for me to recreate an atmosphere, a very close team, together, that we are able to play as a team.
This is the challenge.
It's a new start.
In a competition like the C1, the toughest in Europe, perhaps in the world, we can't waste time thinking if we are favorite, more or less strong ... We must show, it's like that in sport and that's the challenge. ”
Remarks gathered during a press video conference
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