PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino says PSG struggled in the first half against Barcelona but had to shake off all negative thoughts to hold on.
PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino told his players to shake off their negative mindset in their 1-1 draw against Barcelona on Wednesday night. The French giants completed a 5-2 aggregate victory to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
PSG endured a humiliating exit at the hands of Barcelona in 2017 as the Spanish side thrashed them 6-1 to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit in the last-16. For a short spell, it looked like another difficult night was on the cards at the Parc des Princes.
After Mbappe opened the scoring with a penalty against the run of play, Lionel Messi leveled with a jaw-dropping 25-meter shot before stepping up to take a penalty after Antoine Griezmann had been fouled by Layvin Kurzawa.
He could have put Barca within two goals of forcing extra-time against a PSG side who looked uninspired and shaky, but Kaylor Navas made a decisive save as Messi missed his first penalty in the competition since 2015.
“In the first half we were thinking too much,” said Pochettino in his post-match comments. “We were thinking too much about the qualification and not enough about playing.”
“I told the players to shake off those negative thoughts and think about the game. We were not happy with that first half and we said it to the players.”
PSG have Navas to thank for keeping them in the game with a big performance on the night.
Before saving Messi’s penalty, he denied forward Ousmane Dembele on three occasions and pulled off another couple of great saves in the second half.
“We suffered a lot in the first half,” Pochettino added.
“We struggled with the first pass. Psychologically it was a test because we talked a lot about the past. In the second half we showed a different face.”
“What is clear is that we thought too much in the first half. We were thinking too much about qualifying, that’s what I told the players.”
“I asked them to play. Of course I was not happy, I told the players that, but sometimes it happens and we were more combative in the second half. The important thing is that we are through. We must put negative thoughts away from us.”
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