Following PSG’s Champions League round of 16 loss to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, Christophe Galtier bemoaned his team’s defensive mistakes. This raised doubts about his future at PSG.
Bayern Munich outplayed PSG in the second half, scoring goals from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry to win 2-0 at the Allianz Arena and 3-0 on the season.
Only Arsenal (177) has played in more Champions League games without winning a trophy, excluding qualifications, and that assured PSG’s second consecutive last-16 exit.
Galtier recognized that Mauricio Pochettino’s destiny might not be in his control, since Pochettino was fired by PSG last season after his club fell at the same point in Europe.
The PSG coach told Canal Plus: “It’s really too early to talk about it. My future obviously depends on the management and my president.
“There is a disappointment, that’s how it is. The club pinned a lot of hopes on this competition. I’m staying the course, I’m still focused on the end of the season with a lot of energy and determination.”
PSG started the brighter of the two sides in Munich as Lionel Messi and Vitinha were both denied by last-ditch blocks, with the latter thwarted by a remarkable Matthijs de Ligt goal-line clearance in the first half.
Bayern grew into the game after the interval and deservedly progressed to their 21st Champions League quarter-final. No side has reached more in the competition’s history.
That left Galtier ruing missed chances and lapses in concentration, with Marco Verratti easily dispossessed in his own half in the build-up to Choupo-Moting’s 61st-minute opener against his former side.
“We didn’t know how to score our opportunities,” he added. “We had a good first period where we had situations. We were able to compete well, we had chances.
“But in the second half, we conceded this really stupid goal, at this level you have to be calmer. Obviously, we were under pressure from Bayern, we knew that.
“You shouldn’t be ashamed of playing long to break this pressure. After an hour, when you are behind, it’s starting to be difficult.
“I don’t know if it’s a lesson to be learned, but it’s a disappointment, a frustration. If we had opened the scoring, the match would have been different.”
PSG lost captain Marquinhos to injury after 36 minutes with an apparent hip injury, while Neymar missed the clash after his season-ending ankle injury required surgery.
“We had a lot of important absentees in the first game, a lot of important absentees in the second game,” Galtier responded when asked about the difference in quality.
“We had to change central defenders, obviously that weakened us. We must look ahead now.”
Danilo Pereira echoed his coach’s sentiment on needless errors after PSG failed to keep a clean sheet in any Champions League game this season for the first time in a single campaign.
“Unfortunately we have to say that Bayern was stronger than us,” the Portugal international told Canal Plus. “We had chances in the first half, we didn’t take them.
“When that’s the case in the Champions League, it becomes difficult. We made mistakes. It’s hard to go out like this, but it’s the Champions League.
“We haven’t won many duels. I have no words… To progress, we must all be together, we must do things together and not individually.”
He added: “We must fight back from this because Paris is a great team. We must be proud of ourselves. We have great players here, who must work together to grow.”
