Paris Saint Germain bowed out of the French Cup after losing 2-1 against rivals Olympique Marseille. It came as a shocker to the fans as the Parisians lost at the Stade Velodrome as head coach Christophe Galtier was not very happy with the performance of his team overall. Alexis Sanchez and Ruslan Malinovskyi scored the two decisive goals for the hosts whereas only Sergio Ramos could find the net for the visitors as they missed Kylian Mbappe in attack.
The French outfit relied on Neymar Jr especially in this game with Mbappe sidelined due to injury but the Brazilian could not live upto the expectations as he played the entirety of the game. He did provide the assist for Ramos’ goal but on a big night with the limelight shining brightly on him, neymar mostly struggled to break the Marseille press.
Assessing the Brazilian superstar’s performance on the night, Galtier highlighted how he started well in the first half but then gradually things started getting difficult for everyone including Neymar. “In the first half, he found the right spaces, he delivered good balls. After that it was more complicated for him but also for everyone,” Galtier shared after the 2-1 defeat.
He pointed out that the second half belonged to Marseille as they pressed really well and did not allow any space for PSG to create chances in their final third. “In the second period, we did not manage to create a situation. If we compare the two periods, there was a very big pressing of Marseille,” the French tactician added.
Galtier shared that the team cannot sit and dwell on the defeat against Marseille as they cannot change the past. He understands the disappointment and it is already there among the players but thinking too much about the defeat will only hamper their upcoming games which also include the big clash against Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
“There is disappointment, but we have to look ahead and not dwell on this elimination. What to press on in the next few days? We will recover quickly, clean the heads, so that this disappointment is not a significant burden. There is nothing more we can do about it, we are eliminated,” Galtier said, motivating his players.
Galtier and the PSG fans will hope that it was just an off day at the office against Marseille as the Brazilian has netted 17 goals and provided 16 assists in 26 appearances for the French outfit across competitions this season.
