Mauricio Pochettino was made to rue Paris Saint-Germain’s lack of creativity during their Coupe de France exit to Nice.
The holders crashed out of the competition as they lost 6-5 on penalties following a goalless draw at Parc des Princes.
PSG loanee Marcin Bulka was the hero during the shoot-out, saving penalties from Leandro Paredes and Xavi Simons to end his parent club’s 14-match unbeaten streak in the competition.
Despite registering 10 attempts and 68.2 per cent of possession, Pochettino’s side failed to score in the competition for the first time since defeat by Lille in the 2011 showpiece.
Pochettino urged his players to switch focus to their domestic and continental endeavours after a disappointing result.
6 – Mauro Icardi made only 6 touches against Nice, the worst tally for a player who appeared more than 45 minutes of a game with Paris since Opta has this data in all competitions (2014/15). Ghost. #PSGOGCN pic.twitter.com/eHpmT3cVgQ
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) January 31, 2022
“We were better than Nice overall,” he said. “We didn’t create enough chances to score goals and win this game before the penalties.
“We should have been more efficient in the last few metres. Then, it’s a lottery.
“Even though we were better, we didn’t do what was necessary to win the game.
“We must remain optimistic: we still have Ligue 1 and the Champions League as objectives.”
Pochettino also defended his decision to start Kylian Mbappe on the bench, before introducing the France international in the 64th minute.
“Kylian Mbappe had physical discomfort in the last days few days,” he added.
“With the advice of the medical staff, the agreement was that he would not start the match. If he needed to do 30 or 35 minutes in the game, he could do them.”
