Pochettino: 'Play every match to win'
Check out what Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino had to say at the traditional pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday's Round 29 Ligue 1 clash away to Nantes.
NANTES
Nantes are a very physical team that will make life difficult for us, just like Monaco three weeks ago. It is a very important game for us. I don't think it's potentially a dangerous match because we are aware of the situation. It's always important to be able to control the next game after the Champions League. We know it will be a tough game against an athletic side, and that we will have to be full of energy to get the win. We want to play well. Nantes are difficult to beat but we want to win this match.
POST-BARCELONA
We are very happy with the qualification. Barcelona have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the last 14 years in a row - so we have achieved something special. Perhaps it wasn't our best performance in the return leg, but we controlled the result in the second half. We are continuing to work and now we are focused on Nantes. We are always striving for perfection, but we can also be happy to have qualified. I'm not 100% happy with the return match, but why would we focus only on this match and not the first leg? We won 5-2 on aggregate and eliminated Barcelona. That's the magic of the Champions League; they are always special matches. There is always room for improvement, but at the end of the day, we qualified for the next round.
FIXTURES
I don't think playing in every competition is an advantage or a disadvantage. Paris Saint-Germain should be competitive, no matter the competition. The club's goal is to go as far as possible in Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the Champions League. We have no excuses and we play every game, in every competition, to win. The best thing for a team is to win...always.
NEYMAR JR
We said there was a chance that he could play the second game against Barcelone and we tried our best. But we also know that it is hard to say exactly when a player will return because everyone is different. He hasn't re-injured himself and we are happy with his rehabilitation. He trained partly with the squad on Saturday and we hope he will continue to improve and be back with us as soon as possible.