AS Monaco coach Sébastien Pocognoli held a press conference ahead of Saturday night’s Ligue 1 match against Rennes, part of Matchday 20. He was asked to share his thoughts on the Champions League playoff against Paris Saint-Germain (February 17th and 25th).
Pocognoli: “I’m looking forward to those dates.”
“I said after the Juventus match that I didn’t have a preference. I know Newcastle, having faced them this season in the Champions League with Union Saint-Gilloise. It would have been a nice touch to play them again with AS Monaco to gauge our level against them.”
“As for Paris Saint-Germain, we obviously know the level of this team, especially since we’ve already played them in Ligue 1 (a 1-0 victory).” So I’m looking forward to this date, but before that there are a lot of matches where we can build and accumulate as much confidence as possible. Because we know it’s a two-legged tie, so anything is possible.
Playing a French team
We’re going to play a very high-level team that knows the competition well, so it’s true that from the perspective of a neutral spectator, it might be disappointing to see two French clubs facing each other. But personally, I’m very happy to be playing PSG, because we already played a very good match against them at home in the league. So we’ll have to raise our level of play even further.
Pocognoli: “I’m not worried”
We know we perform well against big teams, whether in the league or in Europe, so I’m not worried about whether we’ll be ready for these two matches and that we’ll be as ambitious as possible. But the most important thing for me right now is Ligue 1, and showing the same attitude as against Juve,” these remarks were relayed by the ASM official website.
Even with the 1-0 victory in Ligue 1 a few weeks ago, it’s difficult for Monaco to be particularly confident against PSG. PSG has lacked efficiency lately, but still possesses some impressive qualities and could quickly become a formidable force again. However, Pocognoli and his players must accept this challenge with maximum determination.
It should also be noted that they have quality, often displayed at home in the Champions League this season. However, away matches have been much more difficult. The games will be intense, even if it’s always a bit strange to see a club from the same country in the European competition. This could be a shame for French football. It’s also worth pointing out that there will inevitably be a club that qualifies for the quarter-finals.
PSG are the favorites for this spot, but nothing is guaranteed. They will need more complete performances than recently to avoid further disappointment. Monaco have already stated that they have no intention of playing with fear.
