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Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva and club president Nasser Al Khelaifi believe head coach Laurent Blanc is not to blame for the French champions' defeat against Manchester City. PSG bowed out of the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage for the fourth year in succession after Kevin De Bruyne's goal gave City a 1-0 win in Tuesday's second leg and a 3-2 success on aggregate. The spotlight is firmly on Blanc after his decision to switch to an unfamiliar 3-5-2 system for the game, with even star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic questioning his team's tactics. But Silva, 31, refused to criticise his manager after the game, rejecting a suggestion that PSG might need a new man at the helm in order to win the Champions League for the first time. "No," Silva told Le Parisien when asked if a change of coach was required. "Even if I thought that, I wouldn't say it. "But that's not the problem. The coach makes his decisions. He changed tactics but he talked about it with us before. We were all in agreement. You shouldn't put this elimination down to a change of tactics." Instead, Silva blamed PSG's failure to put City away in the first leg, when the home side dominated but the visitors managed to draw 2-2. "This elimination really hurts," the Brazilian centre-back added. "You talk, you talk and finally you make the same mistakes. "It's hard to find an explanation straight away. But when you concede two goals at home, it's difficult after that. It was the same in previous years. Even if we were made favourites, on the pitch we didn't assume that status. We lacked personality." Meanwhile, Al Khelaifi said the club still have confidence in Blanc, who signed a new two-year contract in February. He pointed to the absence of Blaise Matuidi and David Luiz through suspension and injured midfielder Marco Verratti as reasons for PSG's below-par display. "We're very disappointed but we have to accept the result," L'Equipe quoted Al Khelaifi as saying. "We're going to reflect in order to know how to go further in the competition. "Blanc tried everything including a tactical gamble. We lost this duel in the first leg. And then we have some excuses: the suspended players, the injured players, including Thiago Motta in the middle of the match. "Is it the end of a generation? No, I don't think so."
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