After a valiant effort, Paris Saint-Germain’s campaign to win the UEFA Champions League this season has come to an end with a 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the round of 16. While the French club put up a strong fight, head coach Christophe Galtier has attributed their exit to a lack of availability due to injuries.
PSG were without star forward Neymar, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury, as well as Marquinhos who picked up a ribs injury during the team’s home win over Nantes. Galtier had to start the latter despite his injury, which he believes cost PSG dearly.
Speaking to Canal+ after the match, Galtier noted that the injuries were the major difference between PSG and Bayern Munich on Wednesday. “The availability of the workforce, we have many important absentees in the first and second leg,” Galtier said. “We had to change two central defenders before the break. This obviously cost us a lot.”
The loss to Bayern Munich means that PSG’s quest for a first-ever Champions League title will have to wait another season. The club will now turn their attention to the league, where they hold an eight points lead over Olympique Marseille.
It is clear that injuries have played a large part in PSG’s exit from the Champions League this campaign, and it will be interesting to see if they can shore up their squad and make a stronger push next season.
