Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 7y

PSG 'lost the match before it had kicked off' - CEO Nasser Al Khelaifi

Paris Saint-Germain CEO and chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi has said the French champions "lost the match before it had kicked off" after a surprise 3-0 thrashing away at Montpellier on Saturday.

Unai Emery's men were stunned by their hosts, who scored two quick-fire goals either side of half time through Paul Lasne and Ellyes Skhiri before Ryad Boudebouz capped a remarkable result for Frederic Hantz's men.

Al Khelaifi admitted to Canal+ postmatch that PSG "are disappointed with the result and the performance" but congratulated Montpellier on their feat.

"This evening, we are disappointed with the result and with the performance," the Qatari supremo added. "The truth is that we did not deserve to win this match. We played badly; we were never in the game. We lost the match before it had kicked off.

"The players were not at it. It is often like that before the Champions League. Now, we have an important game on Tuesday, and we are going to forget this match."

Defender Marquinhos, who endured a particularly tough time at Stade de la Mosson in central defence, echoed his president's views.

The Brazil international conceded he and his teammates "were not at our usual level" and praised Montpellier's clinical finishing but also bemoaned being "unable to find any space."

"There are no words -- we have to forget this game immediately, but not the mistakes," Marquinhos said. "They scored a first goal and then a second, and it made things even more difficult.

"We tried. We have to think about our next game and not make the same mistakes again if we want to be champions. When you get a slap in the face and you are a top quality player, you learn a lot.

"It is difficult to lose 3-0. We have to get back to work straight away. The fans will see a different PSG in the next game."

Coach Unai Emery admitted in his postmatch news conference that his team "did not play well this evening, even though we started well" and acknowledged Montpellier "were clinical and took advantage of our mistakes."

"We are now going to think about the game on Tuesday," said Emery. "Learn the lessons of this evening, have more motivation, more concentration, not make mistakes and not allow our opponents to get into the game as we did this evening."

Midfielder Blaise Matuidi preferred to look ahead to next week's UEFA Champions League clash with Ludogorets Razgrad and Ligue 1 meeting with Nice after "nothing went right for us this evening."

"We have a match coming up very quickly on Tuesday and we have to show a different face. We are all aware that we did not perform and that we were punished for it.

"We, the players, are responsible. Regardless of the tactics, we are the ones on the pitch. We were on a superb run which unfortunately stops here but we are already focused on Tuesday."

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