The Paris Saint-Germain coach laid out the blueprint for his team when they face Manchester United in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League Last 16 second leg.
THE MATCH
“The ideal scenario is to score the first goal of the game. We have to show our principal qualities, play with confidence and calm, but also put in a good dose of intensity, keep it tight, and play as a team. My players have shown that in recent weeks with matches every three days. For me, the key will be to play without fear and to trust in what we know how to do best.”
MANCHESTER UNITED
“We know a team like that can score at any moment. But if they score first tomorrow, we’ll have to be able to react. The ideal thing would be to open the scoring, but we mustn’t lose our focus or waste energy by being afraid. We have to be ready for every possible scenario. And we have to accept that Manchester will be ready to do anything it takes to get a result.”
EDINSON CAVANI
“Edi has had two full training sessions with us. But we’ll decide tomorrow if he’s in the squad after our final training session. He feels good, but if we have to wait a bit more, we’ll do it.”
THE MIDFIELD
“Of course, I don’t want to give you my starting XI, but we have several possibilities, and especially in midfield. We know Manchester United like to play wide in 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. It’s never easy to control attackers that go forward quickly. We’ll have to be careful, especially with Lukaku and Rashford, they are really quick. Our structure will be key.”
SIT ON THE LEAD?
“We have to forget that we have an advantage. It always takes a little something special to win these kinds of games. We have to reproduce the good things that we did at Old Trafford, but we have to forget the score and focus on our performance. We absolutely must not let the scoreline influence our energy and mentality. A Last 16 tie is played twice at 100% and twice at your best level.”
