Lens 3-1 PSG: Galtier annoyed by the goals conceded by Paris Saint-Germain

PSG lost a pivotal game against Lens away from home by a sound 3-1 final score as part of the match day 17 of Ligue 1. The Paris Saint-Germain squad never found their footing and struggled for the full 90 minutes in an awful match that marked their first loss of the season.

The coach of PSG, Christophe Galtier, adressed the media after the match between the top two teams of Ligue 1 in his post-game press conference. Here are the most interesting thoughts he had to share.

Asked about losing the game against Lens and the defensive ineptitude of the players from PSG...

"Lens deserves the victory on the whole game."

"It's not the defeat itself that disappoints or annoys me, but it's the way we conceded our goals, especially the first one."

"We had worked and studied the strong points of Lens. We knew that they were very strong in transition from a low block. We didn't respect our positions and that's what cost us the second goal."

"In the second half, we allowed the third goal very quickly, losing the ball in a very dangerous area."

About the low level showed by the players on a game taking place on New Year's evening...

"It's just like that. You are caught in a game with a lot of intensity, very impactful."

"As soon as you are not technically sound, that creates a lot of space."

"It's definitely the first time I've seen so much technical waste this season."

About the impact of this loss on the PSG squad for the remainder of the season...

"There was no particular pressure about finishing the year undefeated."

"It was never a goal set by anyone. Not me, not the technical directors, or the players."

About Kylian Mbappe's subpar performance...

"He put on a lot of effort."

"Even at 3-1 he showed a great state of mind."

"Unfortunately, Lens regrouped well and were very well organized on defense so there was less and less space."

About the absences of Lionel Messi and Neymar, and their impact on Sunday's game...

"There are no excuses for the fact that we lost just because we had absentees."

"(That's) because we're going to have a second half of the season with a lot of games, where there will be injuries and suspensions. We will have to be really better even with absences."

"We had to play the opposite way (from behind), which we did. The ball had to circulate much faster in the backs of the Lens midfielders to develop our attacks. But we wasted so many opportunities because of technical errors."

About the anticipated return of Messi this week...

"We'll be very happy to welcome him back to our place, to the training center."

"(Messi will return) on January 3rd, that is in 48 hours. Of course he will be very well received."

"After we welcome him the fans will have a chance (PSG plays at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, Jan. 11) to welcome Messi back at the stadium. I have no doubt that he will be very well received at the Parc."

"Now that he has reached this incredible goal (winning the World Cup), we must remember what he has done since the beginning of the season with the team."

"He is a decisive player for us. So I have no doubt that he will be very well received."