Paris Saint-Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti said Friday that it was time for the Ligue 1 title favourites to “recover points lost in the league, quickly” ahead of Saturday’s home encounter with strugglers Troyes.
Having picked up just one point from a possible nine, PSG have fallen from their perch at the top of the standings and now sit two points behind leaders Lyon, having played a game extra.
Following last weekend’s embarrassing 2-1 loss against nine-man Rennes at Parc des Princes, Ancelotti claimed the club was going through a “crisis” and the Italian refused to acknowledge that PSG had emerged from their predicament despite Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Dynamo Kiev that saw them progress to the Champions League knockout phase.
Asked if the crisis was over, Ancelotti replied: “I don’t think so. It’s important that we see on Saturday the same attitude and the same concentration that we had against Kiev. It’s essential to get results. We have to recover lost points in the championship, quickly. Against Troyes, it will be a good test.”
Saturday’s defeat to Rennes consigned the Parisians to a second successive home reverse, with Ancelotti saying only time will tell as to whether PSG have turned the corner on their patchy run of form.
“After Rennes, it was a difficult time. We had two straight defeats at home and for PSG, that cannot be normal. The reaction was good but I’m still waiting for that to be confirmed (on Saturday). We can and we must do better.”
The Italian was also critical of Marco Verratti following his side’s midweek triumph in the Ukrainian capital, accusing the youngster of “taking too many risks”, but stressed he still had “confidence” in the Italian midfielder despite a series of error-strewn performances in recent weeks.
“Mistakes from a young player is normal,” said Ancelotti of Verratti, who just turned 20 earlier this month.
“He will change, that’s certain. I think he has an awful lot of confidence in his abilities. But sometimes, you play against an aggressive opponent and you can’t take the risk of losing the ball in front of the penalty area,” he added.
“He started very well and right now he’s having some difficulties. It’s normal, it’s a new league, a new team. Sometimes I’m annoyed by him but I have confidence in him. I know he’s a good player, useful for the team,” Ancelotti told reporters.
Ancelotti eyes return to form for PSG
