Christophe Galtier explains what went wrong with Paris Saint-Germain’s defending on the Juventus goal and how they lost control of the second half. ‘Our positioning was wrong.’
The Ligue 1 giants were extremely comfortable in the first half of their Champions League tie, going 2-0 up within 22 minutes with a Kylian Mbappé brace, but Weston McKennie’s header set up a far more balanced second half and ultimate 2-1 final result.
“We had problems after the break, as we allowed a few too many chances, but I am happy overall with the performance,” said Galtier in his press conference.
“At times we defended deeper to go on the counter, so I am satisfied with what we did in the first half. When you are 2-0 up, the third goal will arrive on the right side or the wrong one…
“Our positioning was wrong on the short corner, it was meant to be a different plan. We allowed chances, but this is the Champions League, and we also had opportunities to score our third.”
It wasn’t just the McKennie goal, as all Juve’s best chances came from crosses for headers, as Gianluigi Donnarumma made great saves on Arkadiusz Milik and Dusan Vlahovic.
This might give an insight into why PSG were so desperate to purchase Inter centre-back Milan Skriniar, as they seem to have very little aerial strength when defending.
Mbappé had the great chance for a hat-trick, but hit the side-netting rather than roll across for unmarked teammate Neymar.
“I don’t know if Neymar was in a better position, I’d need to see it again. It’s hardly unusual that a striker who has just scored two will have an obsession to get the third. I am satisfied with the performance of the front three.”