‘You can’t afford to only play one half’ – Galtier criticises PSG despite Angers victory

Christophe Galtier insists Paris Saint-Germain “can’t afford to only play one half” following their narrow 2-1 victory over bottom side Angers in Ligue 1.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice at Stade Raymond-Kopa as runaway leaders PSG moved 11 points clear at the summit, while pushing their opponents to the brink of relegation.

However, it was a generally below-par display by the visitors, who failed to press home their advantage after the restart and were denied a clean sheet when Sada Thioub struck three minutes from time.

In fact, Angers registered six more shots than PSG (10) during the 90 minutes and while Galtier was pleased to see his side edge closer to another league title, the head coach conceded he expects more from his players.

“Tonight, it was important to win,” he told Amazon Prime. 

“But I must say, however, that if in the first half, we were serious and effective. In the second half, there was a total relaxation. We only carried the ball, without wanting to improve the advantage.

“Of course, we win. But when you’re at PSG, you can’t afford to only play one half.

“Is there also fatigue and wear and tear over a long season? Maybe, but we haven’t done anything yet.

“The title is not yet ours. The gap is considerable, but we will see on Sunday [against Lorient] how things go. There are still several games to win.”