Pochettino will use Brest victory as UCL motivation
Mauricio Pochettino believes that Paris Saint-Germain's win over Brest can give it confidence for the UEFA Champions League tie with Real Madrid.
Runaway Ligue 1 leader PSG sits 11 points clear at the summit after cruising to a 2-0 victory over Brest at Parc des Princes on Sunday (AEDT).
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring with his 10th Ligue 1 goal of the season, meaning he has now hit double figures in six straight league seasons – in that period, no other player has managed to do so more than three times – before Thilo Kehrer sealed the three points.
With Madrid to come in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 in February, Pochettino insisted that his side can use the triumph as a base to build confidence.
"Every game, every competition is different," he said after the win over Brest. "But this performance, especially in the second half, gives us confidence.
"It reaffirms certain ideas and concepts that we must work on. It's true that the team was good and did what we expected.
"We started well but then we lost a few balls and we got into trouble. In the second half we made better decisions.
"We saw good collective play, we controlled the match. I am happy with the involvement of all the players. We had better circulation by being aggressive. Yes, I am satisfied, because it was not an easy game.
"We would have liked to win more broadly so that it corresponds to the number of chances we created. But the most important thing is to get chances.
"We know that we have players who have the goals in their legs. If they didn't score today it will be next time."
Pochettino also had time to introduce centre-back Sergio Ramos for his home debut after the hour mark.
The former Tottenham Hotspur head coach also suggested that the Spain international could offer him a different dimension with his team, with the option of playing a three-man defence.
On being asked about deploying three defenders, Pochettino said: "It is an option. Everything is possible in football. We can consider it. We have already done this during the match.
"It's not just putting in players but yes, it's an option."
