Marco Verratti played 80 minutes in Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-1 victory over İstanbul Başakşehir. The 28-year-old had an assist on the opening goal from Neymar Jr., and the capital club never looked back.
The Italy international also had four key passes, went 99 for 103 on his passes with a 96-percent accurate percentage, all while touching the ball 117 times, per SofaScore.
After the fixture, Verratti spoke with RMC Sport to discuss various topics, including the alleged racist remarks made by the fourth official towards Başakşehir assistant coach Pierre Webó.
“It was hard for everyone, for us players, but also for those watching the game. This must not happen. We are followed by millions of people, and we must be examples. We made a bit of a gesture by deciding not to play with the other team,” Verratti said.
“The fourth referee should be punished for setting an example for everyone and changing. The smartest thing was to stop. We will try to be even more examples in the future. He made a mistake. He must be punished, no matter who it is. It’s a personal question for everyone; some players were more affected. There were no conditions yesterday to finish the match.”
Finally, Verratti touched on the match itself.
“Now we are happy to have won, and we are moving forward. We’re coming back a bit. We had finals against Leipzig and Manchester. I listened to the reviews. It was not easy,” Verratti said.
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.
