While Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar weren’t even on the bench, they still managed a 3-1 win over the third-tier side in Friday night’s French Cup round of 64. League of Chateauroux.
Christophe Galtier included 16-year-old Warren Zaire Emery in his much-changed starting line-up, with no Lionel Messi, Neymar, or Kylian Mbappe as Ekitike, Pablo Sarabia, and Soler were selected in the attack.
✅ Chateauroux 1️⃣ – 3️⃣ PSG
— PSG Post (@PSGPost) January 6, 2023
Hugo Ekitike ⚽️
Juan Bernat ⚽️
Carlos Soler ⚽️
🏆 On to the Round of 32!
⚔️ Next game: Jan. 11 vs. Angers
🏟️ Ligue 1 | Parc des Princes
🐐 Return of the GOAT#LBCPSG #CoupeDeFrance pic.twitter.com/RS7nY1STRp
After the game, Christophe Galtier admitted that the Paris Saint-Germain players may have underestimated Chateauroux in the Coupe de France.
“We are going to recover players for Angers. We must quickly find a group in line with PSG and the ambitions we have. I know that it is difficult post-World Cup, everyone has to remobilize and refocus on the team and the game.”
“We realize that the teams that have had a lot of players at the World Cup are struggling to restart. Everyone will have to quickly refocus, refocus on the game, on the team, and the objectives that we have defined.”
“Games like this are difficult. The start was in line with what I expected, with the opener. Afterwards, my team was cut in two and that gave Chateauroux a lot of hope… I was satisfied with the young players,” he said. “They were serious and on pace. I really liked Ismael in the game. Warren was of a good level. El Chadaille was unhappy [about the goal against].
| 16′ | PSG’s goal opens the scoring 0-1 |
| 45′ | Halftime Chateauroux 1-1 PSG |
| 65′ | PSG closes in on the go-ahead goal |
| 90′ | Match ends Chateauroux 1-3 PSG |