The Parisian coach believes that the players should be more protected after the injury of Kylian Mbappé on Friday in the final of the Coupe de France.
At the Stade de France
Thilo Kehrer and Kylian Mbappé, left on injury : “I do not have any news. Thilo took a hit. He had to be replaced… He couldn’t sprint anymore. Kylian… Everyone saw. It’s a serious injury. I do not know what to say … This is the third game in a row that Saint-Etienne has taken a red card against us, the third time in the first half hour. It’s not like they are tired at the time… Play a game, a final like that… I’m very surprised. This is not good news for us, not at all. Of course, I am very happy with the victory. Now you have to stay calm and patient because there is no news … I think they will be taking exams tonight (Friday). Worried about Mbappé? It is enough to see the images, this fault, to be worried! Of course I am worried… ”
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The temptation to preserve Neymar against Lyon : “If ‘Ney’ is there, he’ll play. I can’t play without Thiago, Marqui, Neymar … These are finals. We’re going to play with the best team, we’re aiming for a fourth title this season and hopefully we will arrive with everyone. There are big doubts now. ”
Arbitration : “If the players are sufficiently protected? Clearly no. After this foul on Kylian, we took three yellow cards. The referee first gave a yellow (to Perrin), and we took three for protesting, for protecting the player. They are not the same criteria. I’ve always said it is a game for gamers. Spectators and viewers are there to watch the players. The most important thing is to protect the players, not just our own, all players! And it wasn’t like that today. “
“I don’t want to be too critical because I wasn’t expecting too much”
Complicated match for PSG : “A final is always complicated, it’s a different context. We haven’t played for five, six months. OK, Saint-Etienne too, but we are the big favorites and we have a lot to lose, unlike them. They did a good pressing and took risks. We didn’t find any solutions, we maybe lost confidence a bit, we didn’t find the positions to get out of the pressure. But still, after a first big opportunity for Saint-Etienne, we had several opportunities to score the second goal. I don’t want to be too critical because I wasn’t expecting too much. It’s not easy to play a game like this. We could have controlled the game better 11 against 10, but it was difficult for us today. But we were playing this final to win it, and we did it, that’s the best thing. Now, we have things to analyze in order to improve. This is the best thing for a coach. We have a final to play in a week and we will be ready to win again. ”
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Verratti substitute : “He’s 100% ready, but we decided to play 4-4-2 with two 6. We still had to decide him and Leo Paredes. It was the first time that I left Marco on the bench. It was a super tough decision because both deserved to play. It’s a decision for Leo because he was very strong against Dortmund so I decided to leave the two together (Gueye and Paredes). “
Interview at a press conference
Thiago Silva (PSG defender, after the 1-0 victory in the Coupe de France final) : “It’s difficult … When you see action like that on Kylian, it’s sad … We’re happy with the title. It was a very difficult game, we didn’t play very well. We will talk about it later. It’s a bit of a sad feeling for Kylian and happy for the title… We have time, I hope Kylian will recover as soon as possible because he is an indispensable player for us. (…) We couldn’t find the spaces because they did a good pressing. But it will happen again… Against Lyon next Friday or in the Champions League. The finals, we have to win them, so we’re happy. Of course, we could have played better. It is true. We will try to prepare in the best possible way to have a better match against Lyon. Afraid of the injury? You should always be focused and not be afraid of getting hurt, because that’s where you get hurt. (…) We are ready. Little by little, we will return to a very high level, as before. I’m happy with this trophy because last year we lost to Rennes. It was important to win this Cup. Now, Marqui, Verratti and I have made the history of this competition and I’m really happy about it. ” (in press conference)