Christophe Galtier and his men, who had already obtained the point of a draw after a 0-0 at the Parc des Princes, in Ligue 1, on December 1, 2021, did it again on Monday January 31. This time, they won on penalties in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, after a great collective performance, punctuated by two saves from Marcin Bulka, on loan from PSG.
It’s a great feat that you achieved against PSG. How was the mood of the players in the locker room, was it euphoria?
CHRISTOPHER GALTIER. Yes, even if we will have to beat Marseille to go to the end. It’s a very good performance. We were able to seize the opportunity to play a PSG very weakened by injuries and players in selection. The players had a serious game, with a lot of effort. Paris, through its technical quality, asks us a lot of races and defensive withdrawals. It was good in that sense, it was much better in the use of the ball compared to what we had done in the league. But not long enough to be even more dangerous. We had opportunities that we negotiated badly, sometimes out of haste, perhaps out of fatigue or nervousness. I saw my players get angry, protest, talk. Even if we defended quite well without conceding big chances, we had some interesting things in our outings. But we ended our attacks badly.
Is it a main objective to win the Coupe de France now?
There is obviously the joy of eliminating Paris. We know his relationship with the Coupe de France. Before thinking about going for this trophy, which in my eyes is surely the most beautiful, there is Marseille which presents itself. We knew the draw before kick-off. In a week, we will have a very intense match against Marseille, which also has a great history with this trophy. There will be a great atmosphere, enthusiasm. But before that, there is the reception of Clermont this weekend. We will have to continue to win, to improve, to be consistent in our performances.
As a coach, do you hesitate to play a player on loan from the opposing team, in this case Marcin Bulka? How did you find it?
I found him calm, serene, sure of himself, in the aerial field but also on shots. Then there is the penalty shootout. However, it is not specially prepared for shooters. But for Marcin, obviously there was preparation. It’s a nod to Nicolas (Dehon), his trainer. He has had a lot of shooter data and analysis for a very long time. He knew how to transmit this information to Marcin, who was decisive.
The choice was linked to the fact that I needed to see Marcin face a more important opponent than Cholet in the previous round. I had Marcin play, it’s because he had the Covid, unlike Walter Benitez. I wanted Marcin to have benchmarks if he were to return to the league (Editor’s note: if Benitez catches the Covid).
“I never push a player to take a penalty”
The panenka becomes a specialty of the Gym. After that against Metz by Gouiri, there was that of Dante against Paris…
I had said that in Metz, the ground was difficult to succeed in a technical gesture. But Amine had succeeded (his panenka). And Dante, our captain, made it tonight (yesterday). It’s good. After, the way of shooting, even if you make sure to give advice, there is what their player feels. And it belongs to them. I haven’t seen Dante once take a penalty in training, not even this week. Penalties belong to them, I don’t impose anything, I don’t give orders, I never push a player who doesn’t want to go. It is such a special exercise, which seems simple. But it’s difficult, when you see Donnarumma opposite, who takes up space.
How would you have reacted if one of your young players like Xavi Simons had missed a penalty?
We must already remove the guilt or the weight of elimination. He is a young boy who went with nerve, with a desire to succeed in his shot on goal. He misses it, but I’m sure his partners will help him digest this moment, obviously unpleasant for an 18-year-old player. I suspect that Mauricio and his staff had to take all the weight of an elimination from him.
