Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery has defended Angel Di Maria in the wake of the Argentinian's underwhelming performance against Marseille.

Di Maria has been struggling to find his best form this term after an impressive debut campaign at the Parc des Princes and was once more nowhere near his best on Sunday.

Emery opted to replace him with Jese Rodriguez with 15 minutes left as PSG went in search of a late winner, but the former Sevilla boss refused to blame Di Maria for their draw.

"Di Maria is an important player for us. He worked a lot for the team," Emery told reporters.

"I believe in him and wait for him to improve. He did not put in a good performance, but it is up to me to help him. I have to give him the confidence to improve. He has a good attitude and will keep working to put in better performances.

"It is only normal that he was not happy with his substitution. He did not want to be replaced, but it was my decision. I don't mind players getting upset when they are taken off. That shows they have character. It's a good thing for me."

PSG dominated against Marseille, but failed to break down their defence as they had to settle for a draw, much to the frustration of Emery.

"A draw was not a good result for us, but the team did well during the 90 minutes," he added.

"It was good to see us enjoy a lot of possession, but there are some details that we need to improve on.

"We are a bit frustrated with the result."

PSG are trailing leaders Nice by six points following this weekend's results.