The PSG coach bangs his fist on the table after the defeat in Marseille on Wednesday, in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
The Parisian coach takes stock this Friday, at a press conference, after the defeat in Marseille and before going to Monaco on Saturday (5 p.m.).
the infirmary : «Regarding Kylian Mbappé, the communication was made, we talked about a three-week unavailability. Kylian is taking care of himself. For Leo Messi, he felt muscle fatigue, he will resume training on Monday on the eve of the match against Bayern. Messi uncertain? He won’t be available for Monaco but will return to training on Monday. So you can put “uncertain” aside. Ashraf Hakimi? There is no embarrassment about him. Tired, yes. He did his cleaning inside and passed through the hands of members of the medical staff. He worked indoors to evacuate fatigue but he is available for the match in Monaco. Take a risk with Mbappé against Bayern? The health of the player comes first. I will be very vigilant about the player’s health, especially since the season is still long…»
Bad luck : «There are the sequences of matches, what happens in a season. At some point, you have a squad at your disposal that seems to be balanced and, wham, there is fatigue, suspensions, injuries. And these injuries often happen in sequences of matches. Without looking for an excuse, there was also a World Cup in the middle of the season, which means that the organizations are very busy. It’s part of a period in a season that all teams and all coaches have to manage, that’s how it is. It’s up to me to find freshness, to have a high-performance team while injecting freshness so that the players are available on this important series.»
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Life without Messi : «We know the importance of Leo in our game. He is the facilitator, the best technical relay in the team and a scorer. Look at what he did against Montpellier and Toulouse, he was decisive, as he often was in the first part of the season. With his absence, it may be necessary to play differently to have a more solid, more compact team structure, and to use the qualities of each other. When you go to Monaco without Leo, it’s always annoying… But it’s part of a calendar, of a season: it’s very difficult to have all the players for 50-60 matches, especially since there are also the selection matches. It’s like that…»
Troop morale after Marseille : «The players were very affected in the locker room after the match, very affected yesterday (Thursday) too. We worked, many players in recovery, others had a very good session. In this kind of period, long speeches must be avoided, but it is also necessary to show what did not work and to have lucidity. When there is so much disappointment, there is no point in getting angry. For me, you have to have a very cool head to give the best possible directives to the team so that they can get back on their feet.»
It’s all well and good to want to play, but the battle in the middle is essential at a very high level.
Christophe Galtier
Not enough fighters at PSG : «To change things ? The question is not whether I will do it: I have to do it. This is essential. We lost an important thing by dint of being in possession, movement, playing… We lost the battle in the middle in Marseille. We cannot suffer so many duels lost, or won by the adversary, in such a meeting. It was a Coupe de France match, against OM, we know this poster and its importance for the club and the supporters. I spent a lot of time analyzing the match yesterday. We lost a lot of duels. It’s fine to want to play, and you have to play, but at some point, the battle in the middle is essential at a very high level. This battle, we lost it. We have this responsibility. The causes ? I don’t think it’s physical. There was enough freshness on the ground to continue in this start to the series. Mental ? On the state of mind, what we must put, the ingredients for this kind of meeting, we failed. I want to think about how we should animate the game offensively with the absence of Kylian, the choice not to start Hugo Ekitike. But we arrive in a calendar with OM, Monaco, Bayern, Lille and even Marseille. These are intense teams that impose duels on you. We must respond to this. Technical quality, we have it. For the moment, we do not find this aggressiveness in the good sense of the term. Players have to put a lot of effort mentally to gain aggression and win a lot more duels in the heart of the game.»
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Lean on the titis to prick the executives : «A total workforce review? When you go to Monaco, before moving on… These are not preparation matches! But I am very satisfied with the entries of Warren (Zaire-Emery), despite the small hiccup at the end of the match against Reims, it is part of the youth and this error should have been made up for by others. Obviously, I have to bring competition. If a young player of 16 and a half, soon to be 17, seems to me more fit to play than others, he will play, that’s for sure.»
We will have a difficult match, obviously, but I hope that we will make it as difficult in Monaco and that we will not show the face we showed at the Stade Vélodrome.
Christophe Galtier
What kind of match against Monaco : «The same type as in Marseille but with totally different characteristics. I remember the first leg well (1-1 at the Parc des Princes, editor’s note), with heavy pressing, a lot of individual marking in the zones, a fairly high team block, all with good offensive animation and a lot of players on the the offensive plan. They have recovered (Kevin) Volland, there are four or five players who can be lined up in front. They are a team that can always be dangerous offensively for the duration of the match. We will have a difficult match, obviously, but I hope that we will make it as difficult in Monaco and that we will not show the face we showed at the Stade Vélodrome.»
Statements taken at a press conference