Clasico Act III. Victim of a “flu syndrome” according to the press release, Christophe Galtier had left his assistants, Thierry Oleksiak and Joao Sacramento, at the helm for Thursday’s session. This Friday the coach of the capital club was back to business. Present on the lawn of the Parc des Princes for an exceptional training session open to the public – 33,079 Parisian supporters responded to this event -, he then presented himself to the media for the traditional pre-match press conference. A particularly awaited meeting two days before the trip (Sunday 8:45 p.m.) to Marseille during the 25th day of Ligue 1. He mentioned the situation of the injured and the issue.
Is this match in Marseille a turning point for the title?
CHRISTOPHER GALTIER. It’s an important game. The two teams are very close in terms of the championship, with very few points difference. In addition to the poster, in addition to our elimination in the Coupe de France there, obviously it’s an important match, but will the title be decided on this match, I don’t think. There will still be many days after. But obviously a victory on our part would be welcome.
Igor Tudor, the Marseille coach, said in a press conference that no team can be favorites against PSG. Are PSG favorites?
Tudor has a lot of class and mischief. Are we favourites? I do not believe that in this kind of match there is. I can’t say that Marseille is, or that we are. To be favorite it would have been better to be in a different dynamic. Our end of matches against Bayern and against Lille give us a lot of hope on what we can do over the duration of the match. It will be necessary to have a very very high level of play and to challenge these Marseillais who will be carried by their public and who are on a good dynamic at home. We will have to raise our game and be better than we were a few weeks ago.
Do you feel a spirit of revenge in relation to this elimination in the Coupe de France?
On a personal level no, none. My objective is to prepare the team as well as possible, to have the best game plan. But will the players be vengeful? There are a lot of personalities and pride in this group and pride will be a big part of it.
Mbappé was absent in the Cup, can his return change the situation?
We will already have to do better what we did not succeed in the Coupe de France, that is to say win duels, get out of the Marseille pressure, have more play in depth. Everything that we had been lacking in this match. Kylian’s presence will give us this depth, but he shouldn’t be the only one to bring it to us. If he is alone, it will be easier for the opponent to control. Kylian can make the difference on his own with his calls, but other players will have to do it too.
How do you view this training session open to the public at the Parc des Princes?
It had been planned for a while, this session was not linked to results. This is an important moment for our supporters who will be deprived of the trip to the Vélodrome stadium. They have been exceptional since the start of the season, even in difficult times. Against Lille, when the match was badly started, the public did not give up and pushed the team to seek victory. It was also a moment of sharing, with the school holidays there were families. Our ultras were omnipresent and noisy, but there were also a lot of families, employees, subscribers… That’s a good thing. It allows you to break a routine… I don’t know if we need it but it also allows you to show the importance of the next match.
You ask your players to never give up, it’s the “Galtier method”…
There is no method! There is simply a group of competitors, players who fight to achieve very high goals. Even if unfortunately we are eliminated from the Coupe de France, but my players don’t give up. They usually. But I ask those who discover the weight of wearing this Paris Saint-Germain jersey to rely on those who are used to it. It is a heavy responsibility. I understand. You certainly have to free yourself, let go of the horses, to give everything you can give. There is no shame in losing matches, although it is better to be on the winning side, but what is annoying is not giving everything. I always ask them to go after their intentions in order to perform well.
Do you have a message to send to the supporters before the next meetings?
When we don’t have the desired result, a draw or a defeat, everyone is affected, concerned. It is believed that players pass on a defeat in 5 minutes, this is not true. I see it every day in the locker room. I also see it in the envy of players who are in the process of re-athletics. The players have a great respect for the supporters. When there is a victory it is often dedicated to the supporters.
Can you give us any news of the injured?
Achrafi (Judge) did part of the session today (THURSDAY), he will do the whole thing tomorrow and we will make a decision on his participation afterwards. North (Mukiele) is very close to a starting place. You saw Warren (Zaïre-Emery) work on the right side to make up for absences but his position is in midfield.
If Hakimi is able to play, could you play with a three-man defense?
It’s a possibility. We have already played and been good in this system but never against Marseille. Each time we played four with more or less success… When I talk about depth, I’m not going to ask Léo (Messi) to throw himself, he is the one who will find the key passes for depth. I will ask that the circles project themselves more than at the moment.
At the end of Friday’s session we saw you chatting with Marquinhos for a long time…
Yes we wanted to enjoy. Enjoying against the Parisian Kop, watching the finishing work of the three players who were in front of goal, but above all enjoying this moment. For a coach these are rare moments. So I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the stadium.
