Silva: PSG must win Coupe de la Ligue

Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva is targeting a positive response in Saturday’s Coupe de la Ligue final against Lyon.

PSG go-to-head with Ligue 1 rivals Lyon in the showpiece event at Stade de France but defeat would only increase pressure on coach Laurent Blanc.

The three-time champions, who remain on track to defend their Ligue 1 crown, suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season after falling to Chelsea and Lyon in the space of a week.

Blanc’s position as coach of the French giants has been the subject of speculation following the club’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

But Silva has urged his team-mates, who will be without star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, not to dwell on previous results, including their narrow league defeat at the hands of fifth-placed Lyon.

“The last defeat affected us as we could see last Sunday,” said the Brazil international.

“However it is quite normal after two difficult games like these ones which we had to play.

“Now it is up to us to react. We need to react, especially as a team like ours, with so much quality.

“We have to get a result in order to take the trophy tomorrow, which is very important for all of us and the club.”

Meanwhile, Lyon coach Remi Garde believes the team’s recent encounters with Juventus hold them in good stead ahead of Saturday’s decider.

“These kinds of game, at such a level, help the players and the team to increase their level,” said Garde.

“I would say that after both legs we are now better. Now, the circumstances are different for Saturday’s game because it is one leg only.

“So yes I can say that playing Juventus was a positive thing. It seems weird for me saying that because we lost, and obviously we play football in order to win.”

The trophy has huge significance for Lyon, a team who dominated French football throughout the first decade of the 21st century.

They won Ligue 1 for seven consecutive seasons up to 2008, but have since managed just a solitary Coupe de France success in 2012.