Paris St Germain will need to maintain their intensity levels throughout the game if they are to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Manchester City in their Champions League semi-final second leg next Tuesday, boss Mauricio Pochettino said.
Last year’s runners-up PSG got off to a solid start at the Parc des Princes and went ahead through Marquinhos in the 15th minute before being overwhelmed after the interval and conceding two goals and receiving a red card in the space of 14 minutes.
“We were the better team in the first half but then we conceded two goals we normally don’t concede,” coach Mauricio Pochettino told a news conference.
Kevin De Bruyne netted the equaliser when his cross beat keeper Keylor Navas, who failed to react as it curled into the far corner of the net.
⏱️ FULL TIME!!
? City will take a 2-1 lead back to the Etihad after a stunning second half turnaround at PSG! #mcfc #PSGMCI https://t.co/zfZDts7OR5 pic.twitter.com/p5oMj3S5tj
— Manchester City News (@ManCityMEN) April 28, 2021
Riyad Mahrez scored the winner with a free kick that sneaked through the wall before Idrissa Gueye picked up a straight red card.
“The key was that we didn’t show the same energy with the ball than in the first half,” Pochettino explained.
“But we are confident that we can turn this around and approach the second leg the same way. The first half showed that we were right in our approach of the game.
I believe in Riyad Mahrez supremacy ??♀️
#PSGMCI pic.twitter.com/QTyH7XbMOH— نِ (@prettysavagNINI) April 28, 2021
“We just have to keep the same intensity with the ball. That’s what we have to improve.”
Captain Marquinhos said that PSG needed more composure.
“Sometimes you have to be strategic and intelligent. We conceded two really stupid goals. These are details that will count,” he said.
“Above all, we need to have personality. We have to have the mentality to win, to do whatever it takes to get through. We are very close, it’s not the time to have doubts.”
PSG will take comfort from the fact that they won their two away legs in the previous rounds, 4-1 at Barcelona in the last-16, and 3-2 at holders Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
First-leg finishes in defeat at the Parc. All to play for in Manchester ?#PSGMCI | #UCL pic.twitter.com/CILaMUdPFo
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) April 28, 2021
