Barely three games into his tenure, Paris Saint-Germain boss, Mauricio Pochettino has won his first silverware of as a manager after his side defeated rivals Marseille in the Trophee des Champions.
Argentine striker Mauro Icardi got the opener for the French Ligue 1 champions just before half-time before Neymar announced his return from a month spell on the sideline with a calmly taken penalty kick.
Meanwhile, Marseille did respond through Dimitri Payet, whose effort only counted as a consolation.
Captain of the side, Marquinhos, who bagged his 300th game in a PSG shirt, hailed Mauricio Pochettino as “an exceptional coach” after the game as he was delighted to cap the occasion with a win and another trophy.
“It’s a pleasure to be on the pitch, to be able to give your all so that you can win matches and trophies. That’s why I came to PSG,” the Brazilian told Canal+. “There is a new coach with a new philosophy; it’s not always easy to change during the season but Pochettino is an exceptional coach. He talks a lot with the players and explains well what he wants.
“We thank [Thomas] Tuchel for what he did here, for me because I progressed well under him and he showed me a new level of football that I never expected to reach.”
Both teams had met in Ligue 1 back in September when Marseille ran out 1 – 0 winners but the game was laced with on-pitch brawl which saw five players sent off in stoppage time over alleged racial comments.
“Against Marseille, we know it’s not always easy,” Marquinhos noted. “They are a team with a lot of commitment, but we like to play this kind of game.
“Overall, we had a very good game. We had some difficult times but we are progressing and that is the most important thing. Both teams had great players to put on a good game and left what happened in the league game behind.”
