“
We have to do better.
“Difficult to contradict Christophe Galtier, the first to point out the shortcomings of a PSG “
very intermittent in the quality of play
” since the resumption, after a World Cup which visibly cut the legs of its players.
What flew away?
“
Rigour, requirement and taste for effort
“, promises the Parisian coach, not decided to cast shame on one element more than another.
Moreover, against Reims (1-1) on Sunday, there were not many people to save, except Achraf Hakimi or the striker, Neymar.
Especially in the first period.
Outrageous as well as worrying before a busy month of February (OM x2, Monaco, Bayern, Lille), starting with a trip to Montpellier this Wednesday (9 p.m.), during the 21st day of Ligue 1, three days before the reception of Toulouse, Saturday (5 p.m.).
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
League 1 standings
With this PSG on alternating current, the structural defects of the workforce are nevertheless even more obvious.
And in particular the questions of balance linked to the lack of appetite of the "MNM" for defensive tasks.
Nothing new under the sun.
Reims defender Yunis Abdelhamid described it perfectly on Sunday, without waffling: “
It was easy to get the ball out.
The front three are not defending.
False problem according to Galtier.
“
We have three incredibly strong attacking players, Kylian (Mbappé), Leo (Messi) and Ney.
It's 55 goals and 34 assists since the start of the season.
These are numbers... But in Paris it's normal
, he quips
.
Should we deprive ourselves of one of the three in order to be more balanced?
It is a mistake.
We knew how to be good and solid with them.
“And to add, dismissing in passing the idea of a problem of state of mind: “
If Leo and Kylian had succeeded in what they usually succeed on the offensive level, we would surely not have this debate...
” Maybe so, in fact.
Surely so.
No rookie in the transfer window
What about the midfield, too often dominated, static, without imagination?
We can see that Vitinha is losing momentum, that Fabian Ruiz is struggling to confirm his few good matches in the fall, that Carlos Soler does not have the level of his statistics and that Renato Sanches does not contribute anything.
And when Marco Verratti, expelled on Sunday and suspended on Wednesday, is not there, it is obviously even worse… The midfield was not, however, a priority in the winter transfer window, Luis Campos having above all tried to strengthen the effective in front (Hakim Ziyech) and behind (Milan Skriniar), in vain.
"
We must find more density, fluidity in the game in the middle
", summarizes Christophe Galtier, ensuring that the best "
need to be better on the ball and more intense than they are now.
»
Read alsoMercato: Ziyech in the waiting room… while everything was stalled, PSG (angry) will file a complaint
If he did not mention the back line, it is because the 56-year-old technician was not questioned about it on Tuesday, at a press conference the day before the match.
He would certainly have had as many in the service of his defenders.
Good news ?
The departure of Keylor Navas, loaned to Nottingham Forest in the last minutes of the transfer window, will perhaps free Gigio Donnarumma in goal for good.
Have.
Nevertheless, PSG "
must do better
", it's clear, it's clear.
And it is urgent.
In less than two weeks, Bayern Munich will arrive at the Parc des Princes.
In exactly one week, Paris moves to Marseille in the Coupe de France.
Moreover, the reigning French champions are only three small points ahead of Lens in the L1 standings.
In other words, there is no time to waste.
“
January was not good.
We all work and everyone must bear in mind that February must be better
, "insists the Parisian coach, ensuring that"
it's not just the investment, it's also the state of form.
Don't make me say that my players don't want to
”.
They must want more and better.
Everyone must have an awareness of their performance and what they give to the team.
Christophe Galtier
In any case, the native of Marseille did not hesitate to speak of a “
crisis of sufficiency
” after Reims.
He did not return to these remarks on Tuesday, on the contrary.
“
It was my reaction to hot, it was confirmed by reviewing and analyzing the match,
he explains
.
That's what I said and repeated to my players.
We have to find rigor, high standards, individual and collective efforts, something that we saw very often during the first months of the season.
These are discussions that I had had with the players during the preparation or at the start of the season.
This rigor, this requirement, the taste for effort for each other.
It was often and well done during the first part of the season.
It has been difficult to find him since the recovery.
I told my players this morning (Tuesday).
How do we work it?
We have very few sessions but everyone must have an awareness of their performance and what they give to the team.
Note that, in Hérault, Paris will have to do without Neymar and Nordi Mukiele, injured,
Read alsoMercato: Inter ends the soap opera Skriniar, who will only join PSG at the end of the season
“
This squad has worked very well for months.
There's no reason it can't come back from the moment we all have the same objective on the fact that the team comes before individualities and that the requirement, the efforts and the rigor must come back in the preparation matches but also the starts
”, asserts Christophe Galtier, addressing both journalists and his players.
Elements of response in Montpellier
Message received ?
First elements of response on the still inhospitable lawn of the Mosson, against an MHSC in free fall in recent weeks but who found the resources to win at Auxerre (0-2) on Sunday.
"
It's like that, there are periods in a season when things are a little more difficult, a little more complicated, where it smiles less
," notes Christophe Galtier, well aware that there is no question here of "
bad luck
".
“
There is simply a need to find a better balance, more legs, freshness and collective desire for the team to become what it was
”, further analyzes the former coach of Losc champion of France in 2021, not discouraged.
And to add:
Whatever the system, everyone must give more on the pitch.
" We will see.
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