Kombouare positive despite elimination

PSG boss Antoine Kombouare remained upbeat despite his side being dumped from the Europa League on Wednesday.

PSG did what they needed to and beat Athletic Bilbao at home 4-2, but Red Bull Salzburg’s 3-2 win at Slovak Bratislava condemned them to an exit from the competition.

The Parisian outfit spent over 65 million pounds this summer and will be disappointed with their exit from continental football, which will place more pressure on the under-fire Kombouare.

But he focused on the positives after his side failed to qualify for the knockout stages.

“It was important to win, even if it we have not qualified,” Kombouare said.

“We had to win to prepare for the match against Lille on Sunday so congratulations to the players.”

“It was a game of great intensity against a great team in Bilbao. Now we will focus on recovering and moving forward. We scored goals tonight and that’s great.”

Kombouare’s attention will now turn to the Ligue 1 season, where he hopes to guide PSG to just their third French top-flight title in their 41-year existence.

PSG currently sit second, only goal difference behind table-toppers Montpellier.