Mauricio Pochettino did not dwell on the difficulties experienced by his PSG this Saturday against Nice (2-1), as much in the game as in the defensive feverishness.
"With the circumstances, we made a solid match," said the Argentinian, whose concentration now turns to the knockout stages of the Champions League against Barcelona on Tuesday.
What did you think of the performance of Moise Kean, holder on the right side?
MAURICIO POCHETTINO.
I think he had a good game.
He scored like Wednesday against Caen.
He can play on all fronts of the attack, on the sides as well as in the axis.
It has a good return.
We are happy with him, his energy, his investment.
Can we hear from Verratti?
Do you have your eleven in mind for Barcelona?
Marco Verratti trained today at the center.
He still has a little embarrassment after the blow received in Marseille.
We hope to be able to count on him on Tuesday.
We will start to draw the strategy once we arrive at the hotel this Saturday evening, after this press conference.
We will also discuss the physical condition of the players and see the forces present for this meeting, if we can recover players like Marco.
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How do you judge the performance of your players?
(
He starts in English, then starts again in Spanish, laughing
).
With the current circumstances, very professional, solid.
Maybe it's not brilliant, not fluid, that we can't find all the solutions.
But I'm happy with the attitude, the investment.
Circumstances force us to constantly find solutions, different strategies to achieve the current objective: to win, to win and to win.
Competitions force us to play every three days, management is difficult.
We're doing the best we can.
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PSG-Nice (2-1): the ratings of Parisian players
Why did you choose Thilo Kehrer instead of Alessandro Florenzi on the right side?
In this position, Alessandro, like Thilo or Colin (Dagba) can play.
It all depends on the chosen strategy.
We wanted to give Kehrer the opportunity to play.
We think about that defensive balance but Thilo gave an assist before Icardi's post.
Even with this defensive balance, that does not prevent us from finding offensive solutions.
You've been here a month and a half.
You had always refused to talk about Barcelona.
Here we are.
Do you feel your team is ready?
I can no longer say that I am not talking about Barcelona (
laughs
).
Yes.
We have to be ready because it's a very important game.
The team will be ready.
You concluded in 4-3-3 against Nice.
Is this a lead for Barcelona?
We want to integrate flexibility into the team.
You know that after 40 days, 10 games, finding the time to work and give that to the team is not easy.
We think about the recovery of the players above all.
We won't have much time between now and Tuesday to work.
That's the challenge, to make this team play in different systems, to go from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 to 4-4-2… With different offensive animations too.
He had been found in Tottenham over time.
If we have the time and when we have the time, I am sure we will find it in Paris.
We are incorporating concepts, but we still need time.
What to focus on preparation?
The mind mainly?
The priority will be recovery, recharging the batteries.
We will talk about the mind, we will do video sessions.
We have been transmitting a lot to the players thanks to the images since our arrival.
It will be a lot of communication, more mental than physical preparation.
This is what this period requires.