After the lethargic victory against Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday at the Sammy-Ofer stadium, during the second day of C1, the Parisian coach took stock of the situation.
Maccabi Haifa : “Are you taken aback? No. We had a look at Maccabi, a team that was very well structured, had guys with a lot of potential and played a lot of vertical basketball. A team that played with a great deal of intensity, as it had done both against Benfica (in which it was defeated 0-2) and in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League. Consequently, I was not taken aback. There was a very pleasant vibe in the air. They are a very good squad, very lively, and extremely intense, and they caused us a lot of issues in the first period. I am not the least bit surprised by this in any way.
PSG’s reaction to adversity: “It is a profession in its own right. In the first half, we had significant face-to-face circumstances that required honesty, but we botched some of the technical aspects. It may be connected to a lawn that is completely different from what we often see; this is not to imply that the grass is bad, but its uniqueness caught people’s attention. The final gesture was challenging for both Kylian (Mbappé) and “Ney.” The phrase “confusion” comes closer to describing the situation, as there was some misunderstanding on how to defend using the team block. The three assailants had the intention of pressing the attack as quickly as possible. Because of how much lower our defensive block was, there was a lot of space behind the backs of our three forwards, which caused a lot of problems for our two midfielders. Because of this, our pistons were unable to come out as easily as they normally do, which made the first period challenging. Maccabi created situations and Gigio Donnarumma made vital saves. We let a goal in because of a mistake with the ball exit. Because there was a significant gap in distance between our three attacking players and our team block, we found ourselves in a difficult position. The second half of it was very different from the first. We were far better organized and had struck a very essential balance to save ourselves from having to go through the same scenario we had just before the break. We were successful in regaining possession of the ball in key areas, we were able to establish our game, and we were in several advantageous positions. We scored goals in regions that were easily identifiable, and we did so while moving in concert with one another. However, the midfield was less isolated as a result of our attacking three dropping down to a lower position and our team block remaining at a slightly higher level. Because of this, the team block was more compact, and we were able to retrieve a significant number of balls from the density.
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Stroke of fatigue: “No. Some adversaries work against us in the same way that we work against them. I previously went over it during the break, but I’ll go over it again using visuals to demonstrate how you need to be structured to prevent getting caught up in waves. It was more the case against Maccabi in the first period than it was against Brest (1-0), but it was still a case against Brest. This is a highly significant area of professional endeavor. Sadly, there are only a few sessions left for us to work on. These are workouts that call for a high level of intensity, yet we simply cannot fit in a game once every three days. When the opposing team’s defenders gain possession of the ball, we are going to analyze the positioning of our players with the help of the film.
sufficiency: “No way. My players did not take this match quietly. The defense was difficult only when we suffered a lot of waves with a lot of opposing players who threw themselves forward. There was a quality of crosses that we had identified, an athletic presence on the surface. We were cut in half, we couldn’t even win the second ball and it was wave after wave… It made this first period complicated even if we were lucky enough to come back tied at the break. It was much better in the second half. The impressive atmosphere for the players? It was a big Champions League atmosphere. It’s always nice to play in stadiums like that. But the players are used to it, they have no slack in preparing for matches, except that we have to quickly identify, and we already know, what went wrong so that it doesn’t happen again. .»
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Neymar’s yellow card: “I asked him to be as calm as possible. He had just tallied a significant goal for us at that particular moment. A beautiful goal. Following his conversation with the referee after the game, the referee observed that “Ney” celebrated a little too enthusiastically after scoring the winning goal. I believe that should result in a very harsh cautionary yellow card.
Fortunately, we have these three attackers, very high level players.
Christophe Galtier
Neymar’s game: “Messi, Mbappé, and Neymar are the names of the three players that scored… We are fortunate to have these three adversaries with us. They are players of an extremely high level. It’s possible that “Ney” felt frustrated during the first session, just like Kylian did; both of them had straightforward circumstances that they were unable to resolve. “Ney” brought us back a very crucial balance in the second period by working a lot in the team block and with the midfielders, which contributed to the fact that the second period was far more successful than the first.
Achraf Hakimi and the whistles of the Israeli public: “He did not start simply because he had just played eight out of nine matches, and not about the environment or what had happened two years ago at the Champions Trophy (Hakimi had been whistled in Tel Aviv because of his open support for the Palestinian cause as recently as last July, editor’s note).” “He did not start simply because he had just played eight out of nine matches.” I desired newness while staying in the proper lane.
The investment of the “MNM” :
“It is not a problem with investment; rather, the issue is that they rapidly gave up because, behind them, it didn’t follow, or possibly because they were pressing in isolation. There was not a lack of desire during the first era, but rather there was a renunciation that came about too rapidly. During the break, which was specifically set aside for discussing this positioning, there was a lot of discussion about it. Because of this, there is a significant gap between the two halves of the whole. They wanted to get their hands on the ball as soon as possible so that they could start obstructing the first raises as soon as they could. Renunciation began the instant we were separated into two groups, which resulted in a significant amount people going in the opposite direction. They are offensive players that possess a great deal of potential and who have the ambition to climb the ranks very rapidly. During the break, we discussed it, and we made significant progress in working on it. The second half was significantly improved once the equilibrium had been restored and everyone had moved to a position where they were more closely positioned to one another. It’s not a matter of having wicked intentions; rather, it’s a matter of giving up too easily, which is linked to a poor way of pressing to regain the ball.
The following are statements made during a news conference: