Paris Saint-Germain have suffered their second away defeat in a row in the French football championship. The superstar ensemble around Argentinian world champion Lionel Messi lost 0-1 (0-0) at Stade Rennes.
Rennes coach Christophe Galtier then spoke plainly: “We can look for a thousand excuses, but the World Cup is over. Even if we were scattered for eight weeks, we have to find our cohesion and our rhythm again,” said the 56-year-old on Sunday evening.
It was only PSG’s second Ligue 1 defeat this season, but it came just two weeks after a 3-1 loss at pursuers RC Lens on 1 January.
At that time world champion Lionel Messi was still in his home country of Argentina, in Rennes he couldn’t do anything either. Neymar also started in Brittany, Kylian Mbappé joined the team ten minutes after the break. The goal, however, came against PSG, scored by Hamari Traoré at Roazhon Park in the 65th minute. “It’s urgent,” said Galtier, with a view to returning to the performances before the World Cup in Qatar.
The lead in the Ligue 1 table continued to shrink. Lens are just three points away after the end of the first half of the season and before Matchday 20, while Olympique Marseille are five points behind. “The championship is tight,” emphasized Galtier.
After all, it won’t be going on for another two weeks. Until then, the PSG professionals also have time to relieve their frustration. “We’re angry,” said goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian demanded: “We have to learn from this game.” This should undoubtedly also apply to the games in the round of 16 of the Champions League against the German record champions FC Bayern Munich from mid-February. dpa
