The Parisian coach took stock after the victory over Angers on Wednesday evening, during the 18th day of L1.
At the Parc des Princes,
The man Christophe Galtier spoke before the coach. “I would like to send a message of support to Stéphane Moulin, who had the misfortune to lose his wifesaid the Parisian coach before answering questions from journalists, Wednesday, after PSG-Angers (2-0). He coached Angers for over 10 years. Big message of support. This is news that saddens me, we have met on the benches for years. The coincidence means that we were playing against Angers… I have a strong thought for him and his children.” The 56-year-old technician was then able to come back to this victory, the performance of the ghost Leo Messi or that of Nordi Mukiele, author of two assists against the red lantern of L1 (the classification here).
The game : «The victory is important from an accounting point of view after the defeat in Lens (3-1 during the 17th day, editor’s note) in a very particular period of the championship since there are funny results… In the game, everything is n It wasn’t perfect, far from it, but it’s also linked to after the World Cup, believe me, it’s difficult and I congratulate the players. The group has been very scattered for weeks and the states of form are totally different between each other. We are finding our squad little by little even if there are injuries, there are also players who will join us tomorrow (Thursday) like Kylian (Mbappé) and Achraf (Hakimi). I asked the players to be very demanding and serious because these long weeks and these sessions that we did not do together are a bit lacking. We scored some great goals, and we could have scored more, but there were unusual technical errors in areas of the game where we usually do very badly. It’s linked to the fact that everyone was scattered for several weeks. I had asked for a lot of rigor and seriousness to beat this Angers team, which hasn’t looked the same for several weeks. The players were serious even if the game was not a very big game. We had some interesting situations. By being serious and demanding, we will find our level as everyone comes back and everyone finds a higher physical level.»
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Three-way defense : «We worked on our game plan, our offensive animation and our defensive organization, over the last two sessions, Monday and Tuesday. I realized yesterday (Tuesday) that it wasn’t going to do for what I wanted to see from the team… We worked a lot with the staff yesterday to find the best option against Angers but also in relation to our fitness condition. I spoke with my managers this morning (Wednesday) and with the whole team to tell them that we were not going to play as we prepared yesterday. It was a good choice because we are not in an optimal state of form. It was important to be serious and demanding. They were and I congratulate the players for having this attitude. Without this seriousness, we could have been in trouble. There were technical errors that don’t usually exist and too much waste. (…) A long-term choice? It was for this game. I had taken a different option at the start and I felt that it was not going to pass… I need to feel my players, my executives. I felt it wasn’t going to happen. I put them back in a system in which the team performed very well for weeks, especially at the start of the league and in big matches. It’s the story of a match but it’s important for PSG, my players, the staff to have this ability to switch from one system to another. We must also be able to do it during the match depending on how the game is going.»
With or without Messi, it gives another face to the team.
Christophe Galtier
Nordi Mukiele : «It’s more than a stand-in. He has this ability to be very versatile, he can play in a defense with four in the axis or with three as a central defender (or piston). The fact that Achraf participated in the World Cup and that he was very far in this competition, that he deserves to recover, Nordi has raised his level of play. He is very good physically. Not his record to score? In this organization, we need to have very high pistons, very aggressive and which bring added value on an offensive level. In that sense, he has been very good for a while. It’s a big advantage for me and for the team to have players like Nordi and Achraf in the side.»
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Lionel Messi : «Thank you and congratulations to our supporters for welcoming him as he was welcomed. Believe me, it warms his heart. Thanks to them for encouraging us when the match was difficult. Regarding Leo, he had recovered well. He has quite a few sessions with us. He seems calm, light, very fit physically. Obviously, with or without Leo, it gives another face to the team… His goal is important for us but we all know that he likes to score and that this kind of profile needs to score. He seemed fine to me physically. I had spoken with him at half-time and throughout the match to find out how he felt. He felt good. It was important for him to play quickly. It was also important for the team to find Leo in the heart of the game. The fact that he was able to play the whole game is even better.»
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The withdrawal of Noël Le Graët : «I was interviewed yesterday (Tuesday at a pre-match press conference). I have no comment to make and I am not going to shoot the ambulance. These are the affairs of the FFF and I have no comment to make.»
Statements taken at a press conference
