Mascherano had no option but to foul me at Barca – Di Maria

Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria has told Canal Football Club the Javier Mascherano foul that stopped him scoring in the 6-1 Champions League defeat was the Barcelona man’s “only option.”

Di Maria was through on goal in the second half at the Camp Nou with a chance to reduce Barcelona’s lead to 3-2 when he was impeded.

The referee gave nothing and PSG went on to collapse to a 6-5 aggregate defeat, having led 4-0 from the first leg in Paris.

Mascherano admitted the foul, and Di Maria said: “He came out and recognised that himself after the match.

“At the moment I was about to shoot, he touched me. It was his only option. I was alone, I could have scored, there was no other possibility.

“However, the referee thought differently and whistled for something else instead of for us. He saw nothing.”

Di Maria said the defeat was “difficult to forget” but added that the Coupe de la Ligue final win over Monaco had boosted morale.

“Winning titles changes things a bit,” he said. “We have won the Coupe de la Ligue and that has helped us to feel better.

“We are all fine mentally and we all want to win Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France. It is important that we achieve that.”

He added that his own form had been rejuvenated following the January arrivals of Julian Draxler and Goncalo Guedes.

“At every club I have played for, I have had a competitor who could take my position,” he said. “In this case, I think I was too relaxed.

“When that happens, you need to change character and react.

“I do not think I was paying that much attention and when Draxler and Guedes arrived, I made sure I realised I was on my way to losing my role. Things have improved massively since.”