He did not seek to deny the obvious: without the MNM, Paris suffered to overcome Châteauroux (National). But in a press conference Christophe Galtier also underlined the positive points of this qualifying evening.
Is there any form of relief?
CHRISTOPHER GALTIER. Imagine if there had been no qualification… There is the satisfaction of being qualified. We know that these tricks are always difficult. We played on a good pitch, in a good atmosphere. It was important to open the scoring but after a blunder! For 20 minutes my team was cut in half. Did we think things were going to be easy? Maybe, but we had to quickly reframe everyone during the break to find a team block. In that sense, I’m happy with the second half.
You had chosen to establish three young people. How did you find their services?
I was satisfied with them. Even if El Chadaille (Bitshiabu) was unfortunate on the goal. They were serious, quickly got into the rhythm. I liked how Ismael (Ghrabi) expressed himself in the heart of the game. Warren (Zaire-Emery) had a complete, total match at a good level. I had the idea to make them start. I am satisfied with their behavior.
Were you afraid of getting to the penalty shootout?
Yes because afterwards it’s a lottery. This new formula without extension gives more hope to a lower division team.
How are you living this difficult period after the World Cup?
I expected a fairly complex situation with the state of form of each other, the absence in the group for 5, 6, 7 weeks of many players, who take time to recover on a daily basis in the club . We have a lot of absentees tonight. We will see who we will recover against Angers. We see that teams that have had a lot of players at the World Cup are struggling to restart. Everyone will have to quickly refocus, refocus on the team, our game and the objectives we have set ourselves.
What do you expect from Hugo Ekitike?
This evening I had asked him to go into depth. He is a goalscorer. He is involved on the second goal. But it needs to be much more axial. I brake him on the fact of being able to pick up. He likes to come into the game but afterwards we miss someone in front. He continues the matches. He needs to find some rhythm. He had scored Sunday in Lens. It’s always important for a striker to have situations. I want him to be more in line than the other attacking profiles we have.
What did you think of Chateauroux?
We knew it was going to be full. We played in very good conditions and in a very nice Coupe de France atmosphere. As soon as we let this team start from behind it has quality. Compared to the game produced and the matches they make, they are not rewarded at the championship level.
Do the performances of Carlos Soler and Pablo Sarabia worry you?
These are players who haven’t played much. Carlos (Soler) is used in different registers. From an early age he has only played for one club, Valencia, and the adaptation may take longer for him. He was a captain, an important player. The fact of not playing on a regular basis does not help him. But I believe in his qualities and ability. He and Pablo are coming back from the World Cup as well. For Pablo (Sarabia): we have a very impressive attacking sector when everyone is there. There is little playing time. There must be frustration. I liked how he expressed himself at the start of the match. It was more difficult later. They don’t have a lot of playing time. I know it’s hard for them, sometimes it’s hard mentally. We will see in the upcoming matches. But I think they will have playing time and in this very busy second part of the season, they will surely have more than they could have in the first part.
Do you understand the disappointment of the spectators who were waiting for the stars?
Obviously when there was the draw, in 48 hours the stadium was full. There were many children and families. Unfortunately the World Cup players have gone… to the end of the World Cup. Neymar was the only period to take better care of his ankle. Leo (Messi) returned 48 hours ago. Kylian is on vacation. It’s a shame for the public here in Châteauroux.
