"I'm disgusted" - David Ginola slams PSG squad for their 'clear lack of commitment and investment' after UCL defeat to Bayern
Former France international David Ginola has criticized Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) players following their Champions League exit, claiming that the Parisians were not committed to the cause.
PSG fell to a 2-0 defeat in the second leg of their Champions League Round-of-16 clash with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night (8 March). The 3-0 aggregate defeat marked Les Parisiens’ second Champions League Last-16 elimination in as many seasons. They were eliminated by Real Madrid in the 2021-22 season.
Except for Neymar, who is set to undergo an ankle operation, Galtier had all of his superstars at his disposal. He fielded his strongest XI in Munich, with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Marco Verratti and Sergio Ramos all starting. Yet, despite having so many world-class individuals, PSG did not quite manage to put pressure on the German champions.
Thomas Muller loves playing against Lionel Messi 😎 https://t.co/P1lZzcGx1o
Ginola, who spent three seasons at the Parc des Princes, was disappointed with his former team’s performance on Wednesday and asked them to take responsibility. On Canal+, the pundit remarked:
“I'm disgusted. We end a match like this with disappointment, which is due to a clear lack of commitment and investment by the players. There has been a problem for years.
“The PSG group of players needs to be more committed and invested in order to succeed in the Champions League. Individual talent alone is not enough to win the competition. You need a solid midfield and depth on the bench.”
Ginola concluded by criticizing Messi and Vitinha’s performances, adding that the French outfit had a weak midfield unit.
“At midfield, PSG are not up to the level of competition. Vitinha is not up to par, and neither is Messi,” he stated.
Kylian Mbappe claims PSG gave their all to win against Bayern Munich
Kylian Mbappe endured a difficult night at the Allianz Arena. He failed to stretch his legs, had only one shot on target and struggled to link up with his teammate Lionel Messi. It was not a performance a player of his caliber could be satisfied with.
“He’s got to leave…The quicker he’s at Real Madrid the better”
@Carra23 has his say on Kylian Mbappe. https://t.co/80JT28HCZQ
At the post-match press conference, however, he refrained from looking at the negatives of the game. He admitted that the result was disheartening but insisted that his team could not have done any better against Bayern Munich.
"They (Bayern Munich) have a team that is built to win the Champions League. I said it at the beginning of the season, in the first press conference of the season, that we were going to give our all. And that was our all... That's the truth," Mbappe told French outlet L'Equipe.
"We're going to ask ourselves the tough questions and go back to our daily routine, which is the league."
In addition to being toothless in front of goal, Mbappe also lost all six of his duels, failed to pull off any of his three attempted dribbles and lost possession 12 times.