Paris: Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery received the “full and entire support” of the club’s demanding Qatari owners on Friday despite presiding over their 6-1 Champions League humiliation at Barcelona.
“Unai has the qualities in which we believe. He has my full and entire support,” PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaofi told Le Parisien newspaper.
“With him, we will discuss the changes that are needed in the close season. We are going to work to send the strongest signals that will show our ambitions are great.”
Barcelona overturned a 4-0 Champions League first leg deficit to win 6-5 on aggregate at the Nou Camp on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals in the greatest comeback in the history of the tournament.
Despite the morale-shattering defeat in Spain, Al-Khelaofi insisted that PSG will still be able to attract some of the world’s best players to the French capital.
“We still enjoy a magnificent stadium with an increasingly beautiful atmosphere,” he added.
“We have the ambition to build the best training centre in the world in the next few years.”
The pain of defeat to Barcelona was still burning on Friday with the PSG chief believing that his team had been let down by the referee who awarded the Spaniards two key second-half penalties.
“The outcome of the match could have been different with more clear-sighted officiating,” said Al-Khelaifi.
“Everyone saw that Angel Di Maria should have had a penalty that would have made the score 2-3 and kill any suspense. Not to mention that there was no penalty on Suarez late in the game (which was awarded).”
Mario Balotelli, meanwhile, helped Nice salvage a 2-2 draw against modest Caen in a result that could prove costly to the south coast side’s title dream.
Balotelli’s strike deep in the second half followed minutes later by Anastasios Donis’ leveller pushed Nice into provisional second.
But by the end of the weekend Lucien Favre’s men could find themselves overtaken by Paris Saint Germain and slipping five points behind leaders Monaco.
Balotelli had the first shot on target, a 25m effort which fell safely into the arms of Caen goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre.
On 35 minutes a Caen counter attack caught the Nice defence on the hop.
An unmarked Vincent Bassat crossed for Ivan Santini who rose highest to head past Nice keeper Yoan Cardinale.
Caen came out after the break and quickly doubled their lead courtesy of a fine piece of individual artistry from Yann Karamoh.
In a move originating from the Caen area the striker ran onto a long pass, lobbed the outrushing Cardinale and raced onto the rebound to make it 2-0.
Balotelli put Nice back in the hunt, the flamboyant Italian knocking in Dante’s header after a high ball from the left on 71 minutes left Vercoutre struggling.
And the hosts were level shortly after when Donis picked up another assist from the left, the English-born Greek forward’s shot crossing the line after the ball had hit first the left post, then the right.
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