International Champions Cup: PSG Coach Laurent Blanc Says Win Over Benfica Gave Young Players Confidence

Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc has claimed his young players have increasing confidence after the team’s 3-2 win over Benfica on Saturday in the International Champions Cup. Blanc was pleased with the result without key players Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, David Luiz, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Motta, and Marco Verratti.

PSG’s Jean-Kevin Augustin opened the scoring for Paris in the 29th minute, but Benfica countered and took the lead before halftime. Blanc’s youngsters held their position to win the match after Lucas Moura scored in the 64th minute mark and a 79th winner from Lucas Digne.

"This win has put a smile on our faces and given us a bit of confidence, especially for the young players," Blanc told psg.fr as noted by Football-news. "After trailing, then coming back to 2-2 and then going and getting that winning goal, I think we can be very satisfied with our performance."

The 49-year-old French manager was convinced his club played “some good” football against an opponent like Benfica. He also added his young footballers will remember the match “very positively” as reported by Goal.com.

"The young players will remember this match very positively. Congratulations to the more experienced players as well, because they led the way,” Blanc said.

However, Blanc warned ahead of the match against Fiorentina that he would not take any risks with his star players adding that playing them too soon would mean gambling them for an injury. European internationals including Ibrahimovic and Cavani have only just joined the team, while Lavezzi and Pastore will arrive for PSG this week.

The French champions have now won both of their summer friendlies after beating Wiener SK prior to departing for the ICC tournament. PSG will be in confident mood when they take on Serie A side Fiorentina on Tuesday night.

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