This Friday, Paris Saint-Germain kicked off Matchday 19 of Ligue 1 with an away match against AJ Auxerre, returning with a 1-0 victory (video highlights here). Speaking to PSG TV, 19-year-old midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery discussed the match and his 100th game.
Zaïre-Emery: “It’s always a goal and a pleasure to play for the club I love.”
“My 100th Ligue 1 match? I’m very happy and very proud. I hope it continues for a long time; it’s a lot of experience gained and a lot of matches played. I’m happy to be here. I’m a Parisian youth academy graduate; I’ve experienced everything at the club.
I went through the youth system, the pre-academy, the training center… These are all wonderful moments, and I hope there will be other Parisian youth academy graduates who will do the same.” It’s always a goal and a pleasure to play for the club I love. And as the coach said, I hope to score a thousand times or even more… but I think it’s going to be difficult.
An important victory for PSG, who needed to get back to winning ways after their 2-1 defeat against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League last Tuesday. Facing AJ Auxerre, who are fighting for their survival, especially at home, it was a potential trap game for the Parisian team.
After creating several chances, it was finally Bradley Barcola who found the net and managed to score the only goal of the match. Winning without conceding is always crucial for building confidence. The capital club is entering the most important period of the season and can no longer afford mistakes like those that already occurred this January.
Now they need to keep the momentum going and in particular confirm their qualification for the Champions League round of 16 by winning next Wednesday at the Parc des Princes against Newcastle.
