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“PSG makes a beautiful champion”, swears Antonetti, regretting “sometimes unjustified criticism”

After winning the maintenance, the Alsatian coach defends an unfairly criticized Paris-SG.

Mission accomplished for Frédéric Antonetti. In a handful of months, the 61-year-old technician managed to relaunch and maintain Strasbourg in Ligue 1. Retention assured on Saturday at La Meinau, after a draw against the Parisian French champion (1-1). “I’m happy to have done it at La Meinau. The players had a good match, the draw is fairly fair, we had a good match against Paris, who have incredible flashes and it’s difficult to take the ball from them“, indicated Antonetti, singing the praises of “Messi, Mbappé, Verratti, world-class players“. He turned into a lawyer for a PSG who does “a handsome champ. It’s an honor to have this kind of team in the championship, let’s never forget that! Being able to play against high-level players… I take this opportunity to say that the criticisms are sometimes unjustified. It’s an honor to play against PSG».

If the PSG is criticized, it is that the men of Christophe Galtier have generally failed during the second part of the season, eliminated in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France and the Champions League. They were also pushed to their limits in the league. All with an often mediocre quality of play and scares even against the weakest L1 teams. Not to mention the matches where the Red and Blue have “mentally let go“, as Christophe Galtier himself had recognized after the debacle against Lorient (1-3).


Even Manchester City does not walk against Paris Saint-Germain

Frederic Antonetti

And tactically, we can see that the coaches don’t have to rack their brains too much to shake up the fragile Parisian edifice… We don’t see any fear either. “When we analyze Paris, we sweat wondering how we are going to do it“, corrects Antonetti, considering that against PSG, “we are never safe from acceleration. Even if you play a good match, you have chances… In fact, it’s not acceleration, but flashes, they see everything before everyone else. I have already said what I think of Paris: they marched on Real Madrid for two and a half hours (in 2022), and we only remembered the last quarter of an hour (3-1 defeat on the return after a 1-0 victory in the first leg and after leading 1-0 for a long time in the return, editor’s note)… It’s not being a winner. I do not share at all the analyzes that I can hear and read“, he deciphers again, assuring that “even Manchester City does not walk against Paris Saint-Germain».

Moreover, the native of Venzolasca recalls that “City have not yet won the European Cup (final on June 10 against Inter Milan for Guardiola’s men, editor’s note), but they are not questioning anything, they are continuing. That’s football: we have to continue and do it again“. Not sure that the Parisian leaders follow this advice, with the future of Christophe Galtier which should quickly be sealed… Still, “yes, he is a beautiful championsaid Fred Antonetti. Afterwards, I didn’t see all their matches, but they took the points, they have a style of play. Afterwards, there are hazards. It was a season with the World Cup in the middle… There are a lot of things to review in the organization of football. You just have to be in bad shape the day you have to go to the European Cup and it looks like the season is over…“Words that will warm the heart of Christophe Galtier, that’s for sure.

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