The two coaches return to the draw between PSG and AS Monaco on Sunday at the Parc des Princes.
Christophe Galtier (PSG coach, after the 1-1 draw against Monaco) : «We were greatly upset by a great Monaco team, especially in the first 35 minutes, where ASM upset our first outings and were very present on an athletic level to win balls, using their qualities in transition to goal image. We had a huge lack of mobility. We received the ball with our back to the game. We didn’t insist enough in depth during the first half hour. It was a little better at the end of the first period. Monaco came to prevent us from playing while playing well, with a good organization. It was better in the second half when there was more mobility, availability, especially in the middle, fixing their defensive line with our attackers, who were much higher. We found better relations and that allowed us to recover the ball quite high in the second half. As a result, we kept Monaco on a very low block. We created some very good chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to score that second goal… It should serve as a lesson to us. (…)
It was our first big meeting in terms of rhythm and intensity. We were surprised. I dare to hope that it will be the first and the last time.
Christophe Galtier
Hot, I feel that my team was surprised by what Monaco offered and that surprises me because we must be used to this kind of match. (…) We must analyze and learn the lessons. We will have many matches of this type in the season. We must be able to modify on the pitch, when things don’t go as planned, through a variety of movements, movements, and to escape a little from a defense which took the upper hand very quickly over us in the first period. It is a line of work and reflection to avoid getting stuck in a defensive vice. (…) With the sequence of matches until September 18, there will automatically be a reflection on how to inject freshness. Some players suffered physically. It’s also the first big team we met and imposed a big athletic and tactical challenge on us, without offending our previous opponents. It was our first big meeting in terms of rhythm and intensity. We were surprised. I dare to hope that it will be the first and the last time. It gives ideas to others…»
Philippe Clement (AS Monaco coach) : «The plan would have been perfect if we had scored that second goal. We have the opportunity in the first half, it could have changed a lot of things… We can have all the plans we want in mind during the week, but it is up to the players to do it on the field. They did very well today. I asked the players for a lot of solidarity but also a lot of personality, to play under a lot of pressure, often one-on-one against the three big stars (Mbappé, Neymar, Messi, editor’s note), with all their qualities. The whole team did a great job on this. And we also need a great goalkeeper in this kind of match. It was the case, Alex (Nubel) starts the championship well. Results ? Satisfied is the right word. I’m not very happy because it could have been better… but it could have been worse. PSG had good chances, but I’m happy with the discipline, commitment and physical condition of my players, their personality too. When you can take points here, you can take points everywhere. And that is very important for the future, to have a reference match. We need to confirm against Troyes.
When you can take points here, you can take points everywhere.
Philip Clement
Mohammad Camara? I am satisfied. It’s not easy because he only has two or three weeks in the locker room, he hasn’t done a minute in preparation and is therefore not at the top physically at the moment but he has shown the qualities that we were looking for. It’s not easy to replace Aurélien Tchouaméni in the same way with the same style of play, but he ran as we knew he could, he evolved well with Youssouf (Fofana). It’s very important because the environment is the engine of the team. The physical as key? If it were so simple, everyone could do it… The physique is indeed very important, winning duels too. But you also have to have good organization all the time, have high pressure because they are strong in small spaces. You also have to make the right choices with the ball. We need all that to take points here because it’s a great team that played in full. (…) For us, the players, the staff, all the people of Monaco, it was important to play a great match for Richard (Guerois, podiatrist with the professional group and the Academy of AS Monaco, recently deceased) and his family. It gave something extra to the players.»