Paris Saint-Germain manager, Mauricio Pochettino has cautioned his side not to be relaxed by the emphatic victory they had at Camp Nou, saying there is still a long way to cover
Remember that in the first leg UEFA Champions League round of 16 encounter with Barcelona, four goals were enough for the Parisians – courtesy of Kylian Mbappe and Moise Keane-to conquer them at home, hoping that Lionel Messi‘s 27th goal will help the Spanish based side in Prince des Carc.
In tandem, under Unai Emery’s watch, the Catalan giants upturned a four-goal deficit-scored in the French giants home ground- in the 2016/17 UCL season, 6-5 on aggregate (a round of 16 )-that match was tagged the biggest come back in UCL history (La Remontada.
But the Argentine has warned his side to take heed or fall in the return leg of the encounter because PSG is tagged favourite to progress to the final eight of the European competition.
“There are ninety minutes left. We are happy with the result but there is still a lot to do. We have to be careful with Barça.” The former PSG player cautioned
He said that everything done at Nou Camp should be replicated in Prince des Carc if they have a smooth advancement to the next stage.
‘We have to be careful and prepare for the return match seriously. ” he stressed
Pochettino made mention of the happiness of Neymar on playing against his former club and beating them in their home ground. He stated the importance of Brazilian’s well being.
Neymar Jr was not paraded for the first leg of the encounter, and there is no hope that he would play in the second leg of the crucial tie
“Neymar is very excited to be able to play against Barça, but the most important thing is his physical well-being, that he is healthy and well and the evolution will be the time that the injury needs. If it can be recovered as soon as possible, for the team much better. ” Mauricio Pochettino said
But he heaped praise on PSG wonder boy, Mbappe for the beautiful display in pulled against Barca, saying that could be another goal after Messi’s penalty goal which was the first goal of the crucial match.
“Mbappé is a top-class, he is a player with enormous potential. He is still very young and he has been proving it since he was 19 when he was a world champion who has a great projection.”
He lauds the 22-year-old forward.
“What can we say to find out, everything the world has seen him.He is a player with incredible quality, charisma and energy.We have the absolute confidence that Paris can give him everything he needs to be happy in his sporting career and we work to make him stand out. many years at PSG. ” he continued with his eulogy on the Frenchman
“Dembélé could score and we would be talking about 2-0, another result.” Mauricio Pochettino observed
However, he denied having any talk with his compatriot, Messi about his future
“No, I said it at the time that at no time was there anything. I can’t imagine the possibility of sitting on the Barça bench. Never. With Messi we just said hello and goodbye, nothing of his future.”
The Ligue 1 third-placed club will host Ronald Koeman side in the return leg of the UCL on March 10- after playing three league matches with Monaco, Dijon and Bordeaux respectively.
