"I am furious"- PSG manager Christophe Galtier unhappy with players after their 3-1 loss to Monaco
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager Christophe Galtier was left furious by his players following their 3-1 defeat to AS Monaco in Ligue 1. This was the Parisians' second consecutive defeat after their loss to Marseille in the Coupe de France on Wednesday.
Galtier was without his two premier forwards in Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi but still had enough firepower to get past Monaco. However, it wasn't to be as Aleksandr Golovin gave the home side an early lead in the fourth minute of the match at Stade Louis II.
Wissam Ben Yedder doubled their advantage in the 18th minute before Warren Zaire-Emery halved PSG's deficit in the 39th minute. But Ben Yedder stepped up once again to score in first-half injury time and restore his side's two-goal lead.
The second half went goalless as PSG failed to make a comeback. Galtier was understandably unhappy with his side's performance and pointed out how they have conceded freely since the restart after the World Cup-induced break.
Highlighting how an early setback left them with a mountain to climb, Galtier said in the post-match press conference:
“Yes I am furious because the start is catastrophic and we have hope with this goal, we take a third on a transition. Going back to 3-1 is more complicated. There is anger. We do with the current forces but the group is like that. There were absentees, a virus. It's a difficult time for everyone, the players and the fans. We have a big meeting on Tuesday and we need a sacred union to regain energy, confidence and available players.
"We've conceded a lot of goals since the restart. We have to find balance. In the second half, there were zero shots and no reaction. It is insufficient. We wanted our pistons to be able to come out on the opposing side. After 3 minutes, the plan falls through. I changed the organization to 2-0 with more forward play."
PSG hold on to Ligue 1 top spot despite Monaco defeat
Though PSG lost 3-1 to Monaco, they remained atop the Ligue 1 table with 54 points after 22 matches. They are five points ahead of second-placed Marseille, who won 2-0 against Clermont Foot on Saturday.
Monaco, meanwhile, jumped to third spot with the win and are now seven points behind the league leaders.
The Parisians will next be in action in the UEFA Champions League as they welcome Bayern Munich on Tuesday for the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.