Verratti admits under-pressure PSG are ´obliged´ to win Coupe de la Ligue final

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti admits they are under a lot of pressure to win the Coupe de la Ligue, even though he thinks some criticism of the team has been unjust.

Unai Emery’s side are aiming to win a third domestic treble in four seasons and will take the first step towards that goal against Monaco on Saturday in Bordeaux.

Victory in that final will also give them a fifth Coupe de la Ligue triumph in a row, but speculation persists that Emery will be moved on at the end of the season due to their failure to get past Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16.

Verratti thinks a lot that is said in the media is untrue but accepts there will always be a lot of scrutiny on PSG, given their success in recent seasons.

“There’s been a lot of agitation, especially outside the club. I see wrong things every day,” he told a news conference.

“There’s a lot of noise if we don’t win everything, which also means that we’re looked at as great players. We’re under a lot of pressure.

“Maybe we haven’t been at the right heights in the last two years. We have to stay calm. An important trophy will arrive one day.”

 Bordeaux@CoupedelaLigue final pic.twitter.com/6uA3A6WEob

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 30, 2018

Verratti accepts his side are obliged to win the final, even though preparations have been hampered by players arriving back from the international break.

“It’s an obligation, yes. We try to win everything at the start of the season,” he said.

“It’s not easy to win these trophies. It’s very important to win, for us and for the club. On the outside, maybe trophies are minimised, but, for us, these are true goals.

“Coming into this match off the back of an international break is difficult. We have not been able to train much together.”