Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 7y

Paris Saint-Germain missed 'good opportunity' vs. Toulouse - Unai Emery

Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery admitted the French champions wasted a golden opportunity to close the gap on Ligue 1 leaders AS Monaco after watching his team draw 0-0 at home to Toulouse on Sunday.

Speaking after the final whistle at Parc des Princes, five days after the phenomenal 4-0 thrashing of Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League in the capital, Emery bemoaned a lack of clinical finishing from his players.

"We missed a good opportunity tonight," Emery conceded. "The team deserved to win but like it was against Lille, against a side compact and disciplined in defence, it is not easy to find spaces in attack.

"We did not take the chances that came our way. We are a little disappointed because we missed a chance to close the gap at the top.

"Now we have to focus on the next match against Marseille. The most consistent team will win the league. We will keep working!"

Midfielder Adrien Rabiot, one of the stars of the Barcelona thrashing and a player who spent time on loan at Toulouse back in 2013, pointed to the physical and mental drain of the mammoth effort put into the Barcelona win as an explanation for his team's flat performance.

"Tuesday took a lot out of us, physically and mentally," the France international protested. "Toulouse came here to defend with 11 players and it was tough.

"We tried everything to break them down. We hit the post, there was Marquinhos' header -- that all adds up to a tough night. We knew we would be up against a very physical opponent.

"We really gave it everything tonight but it just would not go in."

Defender Marquinhos came close to scoring a breakthrough goal in the second half but his effort was blocked by teammate Presnel Kimpembe and the Brazil international admitted the team's frustration.

"We are a bit frustrated tonight because we let slip a good opportunity," said Marquinhos. "We tried everything during the match. In the first half we lacked a little aggressiveness. It was better in the second half, but we didn't have much luck.

"We have to keep working hard. We have been in good form and we cannot lose our confidence. There are still a number of important matches to come in the league, starting with next Sunday's game. We will come back stronger."

Another ex-Toulouse man, right-back Serge Aurier, agreed with Emery that PSG missed a golden opportunity to close the gap on Monaco.

"We have a few regrets because we would have liked to close to within a point of Monaco," the Ivory Coast international said. "We created a number of chances. We used up a lot of energy on Tuesday night and it is not easy to repeat that immediately afterwards.

"We will stay positive. Now we will start preparing for Sunday's match and keep picking up points."

Next Sunday is Le Classique, the massive showdown between PSG and their bitter rivals Marseille, at Stade Velodrome.

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