Football
ESPN staff 8y

Angel Di Maria: Paris Saint-Germain faster in transition under Unai Emery

Angel Di Maria said Paris Saint-Germain are faster in transition under Unai Emery this season, after the French champions won the nation's Super Cup for the fourth straight time on Saturday.

Javier Pastore, Lucas Moura, Hatem Ben Arfa and Layvin Kurzawa were on the scoresheet in a 4-1 win over Lyon in Austria.

PSG will need to find goals in new ways this season after Zlatan Ibrahimovic left for Manchester United, and Di Maria credited new boss Emery for updating their tactics.

"It's never easy to win, and even more so to continue to do it," Di Maria said. "We have had an excellent preseason. Everyone has played and everyone feels involved. It's important.

"We have worked a lot with the new technical staff and you can see the result on the pitch: we press more, we go forward more quickly.

"The coach asks a lot of us, but you can already see the result with a first trophy."

Emery praised his team's performance in the victory as they prepare to open the Ligue 1 season against Bastia next Friday.

"I'm happy with this win and the team's display, even if we can still improve things," Emery said. "The team has worked hard throughout preseason, and we took on an extra dimension this evening.

"It was a difficult game. Lyon had possession, but we managed to come out on top. The league is going to be difficult, but I'm confident the team will give its best."

Defender Kurzawa had a particularly good night against Lyon with an inch-perfect assist on Pastore's opener before scoring PSG's fourth himself.

"We won in style and by playing well, which is what the coach wants," Kurzawa said. "It's a great win, we have started the season well.

"I think I played quite well, as did the whole team. The most important thing is that we won, and we did that with a lot of desire, which is the main thing."

Meanwhile, Lyon are concerned about star Alexandre Lacazette, who suffered a hip injury in the defeat and left the game at half-time.

"It's worrying," Lyon coach Bruno Genesio said. "It's a big downside of the evening in addition to the defeat. This is our attack leader, he is needed.

"It's too early to tell about the injury. There will be examinations early this week."

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