Football
Jonathon Johnson 6y

Unai Emery delighted as PSG set new UCL record for group stage goals

PARIS -- Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery was delighted by his players' recovery from Celtic's opener as the French capital outfit set a new record for the number of goals scored in the Champions League group stage in a 7-1 win on Wednesday.

Emery's men have now scored 24 goals so far in Group B -- shattering the old record of 21 set by Borussia Dortmund in 2016. Remarkably, there is still one more matchday to play.

Moussa Dembele stunned the home supporters inside of 60 seconds but Neymar soon had PSG level and the Brazilian superstar went on to score again, while Edinson Cavani struck twice and Kylian Mbappe, Marco Verratti and Dani Alves all managed a goal each.

Emery was impressed by his team's attitude and how comprehensive the final result was.

"I think that the team played a very complete match," said the Spaniard after the final whistle. "The only negative was the goal we conceded but the team reacted well to that early setback and we controlled the ball throughout the game.

"We pressed very well and we always wanted to score more. We played some beautiful football, we were very ambitious and we need to continue like this to keep improving."

Cavani is now just five goals away from equalling Zlatan Ibrahimovic's all-time record of 156 across all competitions and the Uruguay international is happy scoring goals prolifically at present -- even if he does not have his former teammate's record in mind.

"The team put Celtic under a lot of pressure," Cavani said. "When we play like that, it is very difficult for any opponent and that is what the result shows. It was a great performance and a deserved result.

"Zlatan's club goal-scoring record? My only obsession is to score goals for the team. There is still a long way to go this season. We have four competitions to play and we have to focus on the club's objectives -- the rest will follow. We are playing with real confidence at the moment."

Midfielder Verratti grabbed himself a rare goal in the second half and admitted that PSG's chances of future success are good at present but the Italy international reserved most of the praise for his attacking teammates.

"It is always great to score but the important thing is to win," said Verratti. "We won again by scoring a lot of goals. Our forwards are incredible and work so hard. We really played very well and it all bodes well for the future."

Captain Thiago Silva was delighted that he and his teammates have now set a new record of 24 goals scored during a group stage and the Brazil international believes practice in paying off.

"It was a magnificent match," Silva said. "We set a new record for the number of goals scored in the group stage but it is the hard work of the whole team that is paying off.

"Every player is focused on what we have to do, and we try and score as many goals as possible, right to the final whistle -- it is a great mentality.

"We have to keep it up now because there is still a long way to go and we have a lot we want to achieve."

Midfielder Adrien Rabiot assisted Neymar's first half equaliser and was involved in his second with Verratti and the France international revealed that nothing apart from winning was going through the PSG players' minds.

"We conceded a very early goal but we never doubted ourselves," said Rabiot. "We were able to bounce back immediately.

"We kept playing our football and once we had equalised we just went on with it."

Next up for PSG is a trip to Stade Louis II to face AS Monaco on Sunday before a visit from ESTAC Troyes rounds off November.

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