Paris Saint-Germain suffered its first loss of the Ligue 1 season on Sunday, as RC Lens stunned the reigning France top flight champions with a 3-1 win on matchday 17.
With both Lionel Messi (post-World Cup vacation) and Neymar (red card suspension) not available to play against RC Lens, PSG manager Christophe Galtier called on Kylian Mbappe, Hugo Ekitike, and Carlos Soler to lead the side’s attack against Lens. Overall, the trio combined for three shots on target in the fixture. On the other hand, Lens scored three goals from its four total shots on target.
For Marquinhos, he is not using the absences of Messi and Neymar as an excuse for why PSG failed to pick up a win over Lens, which he spoke about to Prime Video Sport France (via RMC Sport) after the match.
“They are great players who make the difference, create opportunities and score goals,” Marquinhos said. “We should not say that it is only their absence that causes our defeat. We have already won without them.
“Tonight, it is the collective that is at fault. We must find our team cohesion, but also efficiency and intensity. The big deadlines will come quickly.”
PSG will now turn its attention to a Coupe de France round of 64 clash with Chateauroux on Friday.
