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Paris Saint-Germain's Antoine Kombouare after Europa League exit: It was important that we beat Athletic Bilbao, even if we did not qualify
The former Valenciennes men is proud of his side after their win over the Spanish outfit and is now focusing on Sunday's game against Lille after being eliminated from Europe
Dec 14, 2011 10:10:00 PM
By Luke Matthews
Paris Saint-Germain coach Antoine Kombouare was not overly downbeat after his side's exit from the Europa League on Wednesday evening.
The French club are out of Europe despite picking up a 4-2 home victory against Athletic Bilbao, with Red Bull Salzburg edging second place in the group on their head-to-head record.
Despite the prospect of no European football until next season at the earliest, Kombouare chose to focus on the positives.
"It was important to win, even if it we have not qualified. We had to win to prepare for the match against Lille on Sunday so congratulations to the players," the former Valenciennes man told reporters after the game.
"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."
PSG return to Ligue 1 action against Lille this weekend and the big-spenders will be hoping a victory sends them ahead of Montpellier who currently occupy top spot.
The French club are out of Europe despite picking up a 4-2 home victory against Athletic Bilbao, with Red Bull Salzburg edging second place in the group on their head-to-head record.
| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £85.00 | Draw £55.00 | Barcelona £12.50 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £95.00 | Draw £55.00 | Barcelona £12.90 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £90.00 | Draw £50.00 | Barcelona £13.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £90.00 | Draw £60.00 | Barcelona £12.90 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £87.00 | Draw £53.00 | Barcelona £12.50 |
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Despite the prospect of no European football until next season at the earliest, Kombouare chose to focus on the positives.
"It was important to win, even if it we have not qualified. We had to win to prepare for the match against Lille on Sunday so congratulations to the players," the former Valenciennes man told reporters after the game.
"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."
PSG return to Ligue 1 action against Lille this weekend and the big-spenders will be hoping a victory sends them ahead of Montpellier who currently occupy top spot.
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Athletic Bilbao - FC Barcelona
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Athletic Bilbao 1-3 FC Barcelona
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