‘We lost the tie in 10 minutes’ – Mauricio Pochettino ‘upset’ as Leonardo vows not to ‘throw everything in the bin’
ByTNT Sports
Updated 10/03/2022 at 07:25 GMT
PSG lost their Champions League last-16 encounter with Real Madrid 3-2 on aggregate, that is according to Mauricio Pochettino. The loss sees the French club exit the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the first time since 2019, and piles the pressure on the Argentine tactician. Sporting director Leonardo said after the loss that the club would not “throw everything in the bin”.
'In the last 30 mins there was only one team' - Ancelotti after Benzema hat-trick
Video credit: SNTV
Mauricio Pochettino said that his PSG side lost their two-legged Champions League tie against Real Madrid “in 10 minutes”.
The Paris club were 2-0 up on aggregate with 60 minutes of the second leg gone, but a rapid-fire Karim Benzema hat-trick swung the tie in the favour of Real, who would go on to win 3-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.
And Pochettino said post-match that the game turned on Benzema’s first goal, which came after a mistake from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
"The first goal completely changed the game," Pochettino said. "For an hour, we were better than Real Madrid. The atmosphere changed in the stadium.
"We made some mistakes after that, we can't say we didn't. The worst feeling is that we were the better side, but we lost the tie in 10 minutes.
"PSG have been chasing the Champions League for a number of years now. I'm really disappointed, upset - but these things can happen. The next few weeks are not going to be easy."
The result sees PSG exit Europe’s premier competition at the round of 16 for the first time since 2019 following runs to the final and semi-final in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
However, post-match, PSG sporting director Leonardo said that - while the objective was to win the Champions League – the club would not make rash decisions in the wake of the disappointment.
"We shouldn't throw everything in the bin," Leonardo told RMC Sport. "We shouldn't start from scratch after every loss. The objective is to win the Champions League, and until half-time we were fine.
"We have to look to improve this team and maintain morale to play in Ligue 1 and to finish the season well. We should stay together.
"Pochettino is still part of the project for this season. It's not the time to think about that."
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3
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Aggregate score 3-2
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