Mauricio Pochettino: It was not my choice for Xavi Simons to take penalty | OneFootball

PSG suffered a shock Coupe de France exit on Monday, losing 6-5 on penalties against Nice after a 0-0 draw in regulation.

Following the match, manager Mauricio Pochettino insisted they were the better side and is already looking ahead to Ligue 1 and Champions League competition.

“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.

“Kylian Mbappe had physical discomfort in the last days few days,” he added, defending his decision to use Mbappé as a substitute.

“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.”

Pochettino also absolved himself of the blame for the outcome of the penalty shootout, insisting that he did not choose 18-year-old Xavi Simons to take the seventh and final penalty.

“The decision of the first five shooters, we decided it before the session between us. We thought we could win before the first five shooters were out.

“Then the decision is taken by feeling by the players. Xavi (Simons) was not my decision.”

The exit was PSG’s earliest in the competition since 2013 and the first time PSG did not score in a Coupe de France match since 2011.