"The league isn’t won yet" - PSG superstar urges teammates to step up after shock 2-0 defeat to Rennes
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma reacted to the Parisian club's shock 2-0 defeat against Stade Rennes in Ligue 1 on March 19. Karl Toko Ekambi and Arnaud Kalimuendo scored for the away side athe Parcrc des Princes.
Despite the defeat, Christophe Galtier's team hold a healthy nine-point advantage over Lens atop the league table.
Donnarumma, though, sounded a word of caution as the Italian goalkeeper said after the loss against Rennes:
“We need to keep our heads up - the league isn’t won yet. We need to come back stronger after the international break and get back to winning ways, get as many points as we can and win the league.”
PSG have now suffered four Ligue 1 losses this campaign, the same amount they did in the entire 2021-22 season.
Neymar Jr. will miss the rest of the season after undergoing ankle surgery. However, the Parisians still have enough firepower in their ranks with the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Donnarumma himself is a superstar goalkeeper and is one of the most sought-after players in the world in his position.
The Italian custodian has made 38 appearances for his club across competitions this season, keeping 12 clean sheets.
Since his 2021 arrival from AC Milan, Donnarumma has kept 21 clean sheets in 62 matches.
PSG manager Christophe Galtier pointed out errors in preparation against Rennes
After the loss against Stade Rennes, PSG manager Christophe Galtier claimed that the Parisians made logical errors in their preparation for Bruno Genesio's side.
Speaking after the match at the Parc des Princes, Galtier told the media (via RMC Sport):
"When you prepare for the match, when you integrate a lot of young people from the training center and when your defensive leaders are not there, we can wonder if things are going badly how we are going to be able to react. story of the match, it's still that we took balls behind our defense."
He added:
"They scored in the 45th minute and after returning from the locker room, obviously it's complicated. Even if we made mistakes that unfortunately seems logical to me with a completely recomposed defense, we had favorable situations. Steve Mandanda made important saves. I was hoping that we could score a goal to restore momentum to that game. Unfortunately, we didn't make it."
PSG will return to action following the international break. They will face Olympique Lyon in a home league clash on April 3.