Paris St Germain boss Thomas Tuchel felt it was important to head into their Champions League clash with Manchester United with a win.
Kylian Mbappe struck twice as PSG came from behind to earn a late 2-1 victory at relegation-threatened Caen.
Despite being 18th in the table and without a Ligue 1 win in 2019, Caen took the lead through Casimir Ninga after 56 minutes and looked capable of holding on for a point after the visitor’s quick leveller.
Kylian Mbappe equalised with his first penalty of the season in the 59th minute before firing in the winner in the 87th.
PSG go into Wednesday night’s last-16 second leg meeting at home to United with a 2-0 and Tuchel told Canal+: “I am very happy that my players have managed to win this match.
“It’s important to win before a game like the one that awaits us against Manchester.”
Mbappe added: “The coach insisted on winning this match to prepare for the visit of Manchester, that’s what we did.
“We will come home, rest and prepare well for the important match which awaits us on Wednesday.”
The manager was full of praise for the mentality of his side after going a goal behind.
He added: “For a few games we have had to go for the wins. It took us a lot of chances to score and that’s why the match was more complicated than expected and tight until the end.
“The team remained calm, the players showed good mentality on the field despite Caen scoring the opening goal.
“We deserve this victory.”
Caen boss Fabien Mercadel was disappointed with the result.
Mercadel told L’Equipe: “It’s a disappointment. We did not manage to hold on to the result.”
