Galtier after win over Lens: "We can't believe it's all done"

PSG came back to the Parc des Princes to face their home demons after losing their last two games at home and defeated second-place Lens 3-1 to put a virtual ending to the Ligue 1 race as Paris Saint-Germain now sit pretty atop the standings with a nine-point advantage.

Paris Saint-Germain finally won a home game after losing their prior two on their own turf. The victory couldn't have come at a better time, truth be told, considering it left Lens nine points behind PSG in the standings with only seven games left to play.

Galtier decided to use his favorite formation going with a 3-5-2 from the get-go. That changed quickly, though, aided by an early red card shown to Lens before the 20th minute of play, making Galtier change to a better 4-3-3 formation that helped PSG demolish Lens by scoring three goals in a span of just 10 minutes in the first half.

The coach of PSG, Christophe Galtier, addressed the media after winning a pivotal game, this time against Lens at the Parc des Princes to virtually clinch the Ligue 1 title, in his post-game press conference. Here are the most interesting thoughts he shared.

How did you feel tonight?

"Very determined, very focused on the game like my players who have been very serious this week. It was an important match, but it was not decisive. It was important to win and have fun returning to success because the last match at home had been a big disappointment."

With a nine-point lead with seven games remaining, what could prevent Paris from being champions?

"To not be serious, to believe that it is done. We have a calendar with teams fighting to avoid relegation. We will have to not be satisfied with this nine-point lead and go for victories, victories, victories... And be as we were when we were in numerical superiority: both very serious and sitting higher to develop the offensive play. Above all, we will have to not be like we were in the second period thinking we'd done enough. The next match, Friday against Angers, we will have to be serious so as not to give our competitors any hope."

How do you explain the face of PSG in the second half?

"By thinking that the game is over. I would have liked my team to be more serious in its structure, to maintain the play of the first period, with the right balance and more offensive intentions. We were content to only pass, there were few players between the lines. Is it due to the scoreboard gap? I don't know. This relaxation, we will talk about it again, I will show them because when you have such an advantage, you have to still keep the same pace."

What will you have to do to avoid the risk of decompression?

"We always have the fear of having a strong relaxation as in the second period. Friday, for example, we go to Angers, already relegated, but who will want to beat the defending champion. To keep players focused, it will be necessary to take care of the training sessions. They must be rhythmic and intense. I hope that we will also recover players to bring some freshness."

Would you like to have Seko Fofana next season?

"He is a player who, for some time, has had fantastic seasons. He seems to me to be a leader of the team, he has this ability to break the lines, have some impact…"

"But we will make sure to finish this season before talking about the next one."