Christophe Galtier wouldn't call PSG season "a failure"

PSG visited Bayern Munich for the second-leg game of their last-16 Champions League matchup and crashed out of Europe losing 0-2 to the German giants (0-3 loss on aggregate). It is the fifth time in seven seasons PSG fails to make it past the first knockout round.

The French club is now aiming at another season of winning just the lesser Ligue 1 in a rather disappointing fashion, having already getting eliminated from the Coupe de France by Classique rivals Olympique Marseille.

President Nasser Al-Khelaifi and the rest of the Paris Saint-Germain board will hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the future of the manager of PSG, Christophe Galtier, and sporting advisor Luis Campos.

Amid all of the drama, Galtier spoke to the media at his post-game press conference. He's what he had to say, which might have been the last time we heard him speak as the man in charge of Paris Saint-Germain this season.

Does the elimination prove the failure of the squad-building project?

"No. This is the story of a unique season with a very busy schedule. We missed important players. The premature exit of Marquinhos, then that of Nordi Mukiele. There was already the absence of Presnel Kimpembe. I don't want to excuse everything behind that, but our gameday squad was very weak."

How do you explain that in the second half, PSG never managed to get out of the pressure?

"We should have maintained the rhythm of the first period. We failed to score at our best moments, like on that chance (Vitinha's) when we pressed on their goalkeeper. We allowed the goal in the same situation (getting pressed) in the second half. We made a stupid mistake, is my analysis of the game. We were able to get out of the pressure in the first period. Our target was to score first to try to make them question their chances."

The anti-Mbappe plan worked. Did Julian Nagelsmann beat you tactically?

"Yes, you can say that. Maybe, surely. Kylian came across defenders who have experience with these major continental matchups. We are talking about a turning point in a match, and the turning point is that we didn't score first. Once Bayern scored the first goal, we knew very well that it was going to be much more complicated to qualify."

Marquinhos and Mukiele left the game early and forced you to tinker. With the financial power of PSG, how is it possible there is so little depth?

"To be very honest with everyone, the team have been very busy and under heavy demand. In the round of 16, you need all your staff and vital players. There were significant absences. Neymar and Presnel Kimpembe are done for their seasons. It is very rare to lose three central defenders in two games as we did. We had to use El Chadaille Bitshiabu, who is 17 years old. This is the story of a season with a very particular calendar."

Even if you win the Ligue 1, is this season already a failure?

"We will make sure we win the Ligue 1. We still have a lot of matches left to play. We must not minimize a Ligue 1 title. I'll let people judge if it is a failure to be only the champions of France."