Mauricio Pochettino says his PSG’s clash with Real Madrid is like an early Champions League final

On Wednesday night, France’s Paris Saint-Germain will face Spain’s Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final rematch. The French team won the first leg in Paris 1-0 thanks to the star Kylian Mbappé. What did Mauricio Pochettino and Neymar Jr. have to say about the rematch?

Kylian Mbappé

The first match between these two European giants was better handled by the Paris club, as Kylian Mbappé was able to capitalise on the territorial advantage in the set-up. The Parisians take a 1-0 lead into the rematch in Madrid.

However, the only goal scorer of the first leg is uncertain due to health reasons. PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said at a press conference. When he suffered the knock on his leg, he cried out in pain and it hurt. Two hours later he could walk relatively well. I hope he will be able to train and feel fine after Tuesday’s training session.”

On Real’s play

Pochettino went on to say that he doesn’t expect Real to change their style of play because of the absences in their ranks. In fact, the Real Madrid squad is also reporting health issues with players Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde. Casemiro and Ferland Mendy are not allowed to start due to a three yellow card penalty.

According to the PSG coach, the two teams know each other very well, so they have nothing to surprise each other. In the rematch with Real, Pochettino wants his charges to keep the ball on their feet and keep their opponents out of their own penalty area as much as possible. At the same time, he would like ball control to put the opponents under enough pressure to create scoring opportunities when they attack.

Neymar Jr. commented to the club’s website on the lack of Casemiro in Real’s lineup: “The absence of Casemiro? It still won’t be easy because Real have a lot of quality players. For me, Casemiro is the best player in his position. But for us it doesn’t change anything. We still have to play and win, we have to do it in the best possible way.”

On the chances to advance

According to Neymar, the matches between Real and his PSG do not have a clear favourite. He also pointed out that although they have the home advantage from the first leg in Paris, they must do even better in the return leg.

Pochettino also commented on Wednesday’s match to the club website, ” For a team like Paris Saint-Germain, the best way to defend the result is to attack, dominate and play in the opponent’s half. We were able to do that for 90 minutes in the first game, but it will be a tougher nut to crack on Wednesday. The game will put a lot of demands on us. It’s like a final. We have to approach it the same way we did the first game.”

The first game produced some great football, albeit poor goal scoring. But let’s hope for at least as thrilling a spectacle as the match in Paris.

Source: PSG