This Wednesday, PSG are playing their toughest match of the last half of 2022 with a trip to Lisbon to face Benfica.
On the eve of this Champions League meeting, after two victories against Juventus Turin and in Haifa against Maccabi, Christophe Galtier, the Parisian coach, was at a press conference in the bowels of the Luz stadium.
Did you expect to find Benfica so strong in this qualifying group?
CHRISTOPHER GALTIER.
From his start to the season, yes.
The Lisbon team is undefeated, very interesting, well organized, with individual quality and significant collective strength.
We follow this team and I am not surprised.
Benfica can claim to be the favorite of this group.
What will it take to do more than usual to resist?
To beat this team, you will have to move forward with this ability to play under pressure.
Benfica will pick us up.
It puts enormous pressure on the first raises.
We will have to play under pressure and when we have the opportunities, be much more efficient than in recent times.
Does Marco Verratti have 90 minutes of the Champions League in his legs?
Yes, he has 90 minutes in his legs.
He came out a lot during matches.
He is ready, he has no problem physically.
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Is this the first big test of the season?
The first game against Juventus was an important test.
But Benfica are undefeated, playing at home... The atmosphere will be extraordinary, the stadium is growing very, very hard.
But I have players who have experience and experience.
Will we be able to play under pressure?
I think we have the qualities to play and be dangerous.
Paris has a lot of
Portuguese
in its workforce.
What do they bring you?
On a daily basis, they bring us a lot of noise.
They talk a lot!
More seriously, they are great pros.
Portuguese football produces incredible players.
Season after season, they bring out talent.
They have know-how.
They are very professional and respectful.
Are you tempted to return offensively like at the start of the season to a two-point system with a support leader?
It was linked to the opponent, to the desire to thwart the release of the ball.
But that has downsides because it isolates our midfielders.
It depends on the opponent and what he offers in terms of first raise.
