Mauricio Pochettino is still part of the project for this season, asserts Leonardo

Having signed a plethora of world class players in the summer including Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Lionel Messi and a few others, many expected PSG to challenge for the Champions League trophy. But while the Ligue 1 giants are currently dominating in the French top tier, they were struggling to find their footing on a consistent basis. Yet, they managed to stride into the Round of 16 in the Champions League and even beat Real Madrid, 1-0, in the first leg of their tie.

However, a Karim Benzema hattrick within a fifteen-minute second-half spell, in the second leg, saw Paris Saint-Germain stunned by Carlo Ancelotti’s side with them unable to find the equalising goal. It meant that PSG lost 3-2 on aggregate and were knocked out of the Champions League with rumours indicating that Mauricio Pochettino would be sacked. However, Leonardo has refuted those claims and instead revealed that Pochettino is still a part of “the project for this season”.

"We shouldn't throw everything in the bin. We shouldn't start from scratch after every loss. The objective is to win the Champions League, and until half-time we were fine. We have to look to improve this team and maintain morale to play in Ligue 1 and to finish the season well. We should stay together. Pochettino is still part of the project for this season. It's not the time to think about that," Leonardo told RMC Sport.

The loss came as a stunning blow to PSG as the Parisians took the lead early in the first-half and looked confident of progressing further. But a lacklustre second half performance combined with individual errors across the field saw them slump to the defeat and Leonardo admitted that the loss is a “tough one to take”. He also revealed that the team should have stayed calm after conceding the first goal and now “need to look for solutions.”

“It's a tough one to take. We can't bury everything that was done. It's hard to analyse. The incident of the foul on Donnarumma was crucial, but we struggled to manage that moment. We lost control. We need to look for solutions. But it's a shame that a referee's decision can be so influential in that sort of moment," he revealed.

"But we should stay calm. We made errors, we should change things but we shouldn't look back on everything. It's difficult but, up until half time we were a well-organised team,” he added.