Paris Saint-Germain didn’t start 2023 on a positive note as the capital club fell 3-1 to RC Lens on New Year’s Day at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
The French giants weren’t at full strength as they were without Lionel Messi, who remains on vacation after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, Neymar Jr. was suspended for the match after picking up a red card in PSG’s 2-1 win over Strasbourg Wednesday.
While PSG didn’t have its entire arsenal of players, manager Christophe Galtier isn’t keen on making excuses for his squad.
“There are no excuses for the fact that we lost because we were absent,” Galtier told reporters after the loss (h/t Canal Supporters). “Because we are going to have a second part of the season with a lot of matches, where there will be poor form, injuries and suspensions.
“We will have to be really better even with absences. We had to play the opposite of what we did. The ball had to move much faster behind the Lensois midfielders to develop our attacks. But we had too much technical waste.”
Messi should be returning soon after his vacation to begin getting back into game shape. Neymar is currently in Brazil to attend the funeral of footballing legend Pelé on Tuesday. The Brazilian get died on Thursday after a lengthy battle with colon cancer.
PSG awaits their two stars, but the January transfer window is now open for the reigning Ligue 1 champions to make adjustments to their squad.