MY ACCOUNT
Christophe Galtier insisted Paris Saint-Germain will play “our best team” against non-league Pays de Cassel in the Coupe de France, as he looks to restore their intensity and rhythm.
The runaway Ligue 1 leaders are heavy favourites to progress to the last 16 without too many difficulties at the neutral venue of Stade Bollaert-Delelis – home to Lens.
Galtier’s side have lost each of their last two games away from Parc des Princes, but restored some momentum with an entertaining 5-4 victory over Riyadh All-Stars in a friendly on Thursday, when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were among the scorers.
And Galtier revealed he will field his strongest possible side in a bid to address the issues that have prevented his players from producing their optimum performance levels in recent weeks.
“It is a big match and a historic moment for an amateur club,” he said during his pre-match press conference. “We are preparing seriously for it.
“We will play our best team. There won’t be rotation. We need to get through this tie and the team needs to play at its best. I am working hard with the players to be focused on the mistakes that we need to correct.
“Especially in the style of play that we would like to have, we are looking for intensity and a direct approach. We have lost this in the last few weeks.
“In terms of wanting to press and win the ball as quickly and as high up the pitch as possible, there have been below-par performances in recent weeks, so we need to think about that.
“Both in terms of our setup and ability to press in the last few games, we haven’t managed to do that for various reasons.
“The sooner we can get our intensity, rhythm, link-up play back, the better, particularly with only one game per week. It would be silly to rotate in certain positions.”
Galtier said the club are working on bringing in a replacement for Pablo Sarabia, who departed the reigning Ligue 1 champions from Premier League side Wolves earlier this week.
The head coach also provided an update on Presnel Kimpembe, who continues his recovery from an Achilles injury.
“Of course, we hope to have Kimpembe in the coming weeks,” he added. “He is scheduled to be in full training in eight or 10 days, and we will see how he feels.
“He is working very hard. Of course, he is a big loss for us. We know how important Kimpembe is in terms of his level of play, his ability to lead the defence.”
