Pochettino urges PSG to boost home form in Bayern Munich test
Mauricio Pochettino has said Paris Saint-Germain must show “solidarity and solidity” if they are to knock Bayern Munich, the holders, out of the Champions League, despite leading 3-2 from the away leg of their quarter-final.
After PSG’s victory at the Allianz Arena last week, the former Tottenham manager is hoping his team’s home form will match their away performances on Tuesday. The French champions advanced from the last 16 with a 4-1 away win in the first leg against Barcelona before a 1-1 draw in the return leg at the Parc des Princes. In Ligue 1, their best display of the season came last month in a 4-2 win at Lyon, which was followed nine days ago by a 1-0 home defeat against Lille.
“I agree that we’ve been better away from home,” Pochettino said on Monday. “It is something we will have to look into at the end of the season but let’s hope things start turning around tomorrow.”
In Munich last week, while the German champions had 31 attempts on goal, Pochettino’s team were ruthless up front, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice. But they will be without their captain, Marquinhos, after the centreback picked up an adductor muscle injury in the first leg.
Pochettino said he would not start the game and later on Monday Marquinhos was not included in the squad. The Italy midfielder Marco Verratti is eligible following a week-long isolation after being infected by Covid-19 while on international duty, but he is also unlikely to start.
Pochettino, who reached the 2019 final with Spurs, described Bayern as the “best team in Europe, best team in the world” and said PSG’s attitude would be key to avenging their defeat in the final last year. “It was already hard to keep the ball against Barcelona already, it doesn’t matter who is playing. It’s a question of collective attitude,” he said.
“It’s a challenge for tomorrow, being able to keep the ball and hurt the opposition. The Barça game is behind us and the Bayern game is another story. There will be moments when we will struggle and it’s in these moments that we will need to show solidarity and solidity.”