PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery refused to “waste his energy” worrying about his job after the 3-1 first-leg last-16 defeat to Real Madrid when questioned on Friday.
One of the sub plots of the “clash of the round” was which manager, Emery or Madrid handler Zinedine Zidane, would lose his job if his side lost.
But Emery, whose team led Barcelona 4-0 after the first-leg in the last-16 last season only to throw their chance away by losing the away match 6-1, was always under more pressure than Zidane who has led his side to back-to-back European titles.
“My future is the present. Getting ready for tomorrow’s game and getting ready for Real. I won’t waste my energy (talking about my future),” Emery said on the eve of Paris’s home game with Strasbourg.
“I remain convinced that PSG can qualify,” he said in the wake of Wednesday’s disappointing first-leg result.
“I believe the team had a good game against the best team in the world. I am convinced we can win and get through to the next round,” he insisted.
“I am happy with the way the players responded to what happened even if that was not the result we were looking for,” he said.
PSG took a first-half lead before a controversial penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo levelled the score before half-time.
Emery took off an isolated Edinson Cavani in the second half and while Neymar and Kylian Mbappe could not turn PSG’s edge in possession into goals, Ronaldo and Marcello seized their chances and fired Madrid into a highly protectable lead for the return on March 6.
Taking off Cavani “was a tactical choice I made during the game,” Emery said.
“For me (Neymar) had a great game, made some very good moves. It comes down to details,” he lamented.
“At home he will show how good he is,” promised the man who’s job depends on it.
‘Neymar will show how good he is in return leg against Real Madrid’
‘Neymar will show how good he is in return leg against Real Madrid’
Drake Maye aims to do what Tom Brady couldn’t with the Patriots: win a playoff game in Denver
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.: Drake Maye has a chance to accomplish something not even Tom Brady did with the Patriots.
Maye is hoping to beat the Broncos in the AFC championship game in Denver on Sunday and lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver — losing all four tries, with Brady going 0-3.
“Just the AFC championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That’d be huge,” Maye said. “Another road environment that’s had success in the past. … I know it would be a big-time win.”
The Patriots advanced to their 14th AFC championship game in the last 25 years on Sunday when they beat the Houston Texans 28-16 in Foxborough. Denver beat Buffalo 33-30 to reach the conference title game.
New England and Denver both finished 14-3 in the regular season, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker for home-field advantage because they had a better record against common opponents: Denver beat the Raiders twice this season but the Patriots lost to them.
That loss — to the worst team in the NFL in the first game of the Mike Vrabel era — sent New England into one of the most inhospitable environments in the league. In addition to the high-energy crowd, the Patriots will also have to contend with a low-oxygen environment that they won’t have a chance to acclimate to.
“Kind of what we’ve been doing on the road all season long,” said Maye, who has guided the Patriots to an 8-0 road record this season. “They’ve got a great team, so we’re going to have a tough challenge. But I’m looking forward to getting out there. And getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.”
The last team to go undefeated on the road with a new head coach was the San Francisco 49ers under George Seifert in 1989; they won the Super Bowl.
“Coach has always been saying, ‘Road warriors,’” Maye said. “So, we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we’ve done this year.”
The Broncos are 18-5 in home playoff games all-time. But they’ll will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle near the end of the divisional round victory over Buffalo. Instead, the offense will be led by former Patriot Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2023.
That’s why New England opened as a 5½-point favorite — the biggest road favorite ever in a conference championship game. The line has since moved to Denver plus-4½.
“We always feel as though no matter what anyone else has to say, we still have something to prove,” said cornerback Marcus Jones, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Houston. “We’re trying to always prove ourselves right and not trying to prove other people wrong. That’s kind of the philosophy we’ve had for a long time.”
Win or lose, the Patriots could have trouble getting back to New England: A major snowstorm is expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the area.
Vrabel said the team is prepared if it can’t leave Denver on Sunday night.
“We have multiple plans of what could go on based on the weather. something that they’re familiar with here,” he said. “I mean, there’s things I can control, that I can’t control.”
