Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 7y

'Very happy' Unai Emery looks ahead to key week after PSG defeat Nancy

Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery was "very happy" with his team's 2-1 win away at Nancy on Saturday and feels his players are "ready" to face Basel in the Champions League and Marseille in Ligue 1 next week.

The Spaniard admitted it was a "tough game" against a struggling Nancy side battling for the points but was largely satisfied with the outcome.

"I am very happy with the three points," Emery said after the game. "It was a tough game on an artificial pitch against a side in need of points at home.

"At 2-0, Nancy put us under pressure. We supplied the intensity from kickoff and Nancy responded. The team worked very well. It's never easy to win here.

"We still have to fine-tune a few things. You have to know how to win this type of match. We are ready for the Champions League on Wednesday, and then Le Classique."

Marco Verratti was one of PSG's best performers on an afternoon when many players struggled and the Italy international recognised his team's loss of "rhythm and speed" after their second goal through Edinson Cavani.

The Azzurri midfielder admitted there is "room for improvement" and hinted the team's attention was on next week's clashes with Basel and bitter rivals Marseille, particularly the latter.

"We started well in the first half an hour," Verratti said at Stade Marcel Picot. "When we were two goals up, it became easier for Nancy to press us. In the second half, it was very tough.

"Before the game, I wanted to win, whether we played well or not. Even when you are not playing well, you have to be able to get the win.

"We still have room for improvement and we need to work harder. Now we will prepare for Basel and Marseille, which everyone in Paris is looking forward to."

Blaise Matuidi endured a difficult afternoon alongside Verratti in the PSG midfield but praised Nancy for making it difficult for Les Parisiens and pointed out "a lot of players were missing."

Angel Di Maria, Thiago Motta, Javier Pastore, Serge Aurier, Layvin Kurzawa and Maxwell were all missing for the men from the capital in Nancy.

"It was not easy but that was due to our opponents," Matuidi acknowledged. "Tonight they had nothing to lose. We started well but then struggled and gave away too much possession.

"Nancy put us under pressure, but the main thing was we got the three points. It was not a perfect performance but it was important to win. We had a lot of players out missing. The youngsters stepped up and that was good."

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