Speaking to Canal Plus and in his post-match press conference, PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino attempted to explain the 1-0 defeat to Lille at the Parc des Princes.

“We lost the game even though we didn’t deserve to lose it. I think that we deserved at least a draw. But anyway, that is football, we have to accept that. We came up against a team who came here to defend and play in transition. After we conceded the goal, they were in the situation that they wanted.”

This evening is it just 3 points lost, nothing more?

Yes, we need to look at it in this way. We can catch up before the end of the league season.

Are you concerned about the Ligue 1 title?

To be honest, I’m disappointed with the result and the performance of the team, but also with the loss of the three points. We had talked about it before the game. Of course. I wouldn’t say I’m worried, but since we arrived at the club three months ago, we’ve been living in a situation that requires us to fight. We will fight to the end and see who wins the title.

How do you explain that your team can have two sides that are so different. One shown against Barcelona or Lyon, and the other against Nantes and tonight in particular. We see in particular a lack of ideas from your players at times.

Circumstances are what they are and sometimes produce matches like this. If I talk about it after the game today, you’ll tell me I’m looking for excuses. There are some strange circumstances that go with football, however. But you have to be in the real world. Reality is what it is. We are a team that has had many ups and downs since the start of the season. We are not regular for various reasons. The situation is that we are there, this is the reality, and we are working on it. We lack that consistency, I agree.

You said “you can judge me from next season” but can we say that this team still carries your touch?

It’s common sense. If you mean it’s my team, obviously I’m responsible for it. I am not relieving myself of my responsibility. It’s up to you to decide if you think if this is my team or not.

In what physical state is your team in?

I believe that after almost 3 months of work there are reasons that we have not been able to work with the team in the ideal way for a coach and technical staff. This is obvious when you can only watch and stand back. After the game against Lyon, all the reviews were very positive towards the team. But it lacks that consistency because things change from day to day, week to week, in 15 days. Things are moving much faster than in the past, especially with this crazy situation that we are going through (COVID-19). This is why it is difficult for all the teams to maintain a balance, especially for a technical staff who arrived recently.

Who can you count for Wednesday? Florenzi? Icardi?

We don’t know anything about Florenzi. For Icardi, we have to assess him the day after tomorrow to know his situation. So pragmatically, we are in the same situation as today.

Click Here: Wales National Team soccer tracksuit

What did you make of Abdou Diallo’s performance?

I’m not looking for an excuse. There is fatigue for all the players who have travelled, they have all travelled to different places, with jet lag. This is not an excuse, it is normal after an international break, with the year in which we are living, the way it impacts the players. The team was not fantastic today, we do not did not find the solution to score, we did not score. But Lille were not superior to us either. My overall assessment is that this game deserved a draw or 1-1, or maybe even a favourable result for us. But when you lose, it is not about making excuses, you have to be self-critical and accept that you weren’t good enough to win.

What did you make of Thilo Kehrer’s performance?

What is clear is that you cannot single someone today. We all lost this game, like we all won other games. No one can be singled out personally. We are all responsible. I think the team’s performance reflects the level of all the players who were on the pitch.