Christophe Galtier accused a reporter of "lacking a little respect" when asking about Paris Saint-Germain's tactics as the under-pressure coach bids to get his team's season back on track.
Three defeats have left PSG bruised, with a Coupe de France exit at Marseille's hands followed by a Ligue 1 defeat at Monaco and a Champions League last-16 first-leg loss to Bayern Munich.
Ahead of a home game on Sunday against his former club Lille, Galtier was asked about the low block he deployed initially against Bayern on Tuesday.
Hampered by injuries, Galtier resorted to a defensive tactic he felt would give PSG a chance of resisting the German champions until he could introduce Kylian Mbappe – back from an injury break – off the bench and open up the game.
Galtier appeared to be in the process of being asked whether he would use the same system against Lille, a team who, like Bayern, play in an open, attacking manner.
"Are you making fun of me by asking this question?" Galtier said, interrupting the reporter.
"Do you think I was satisfied with what I saw against Bayern? No, I was not satisfied.
"My players didn't do well. We had a game plan that was adapted to the players available. Do you think that starting Warren Zaire-Emery in such an important Champions League game under the age of 17 is something I had been working towards?
"The circumstances dictated that, and I didn't have other options. We wanted to contain Bayern Munich, to then move into the second phase by bringing Kylian on.
"When Kylian came on, it created more openings for Bayern, but also for us. It was a different game.
"I respect your question, but if you think that I enjoyed watching my team play that way for 60 minutes, it's because – with a lot of respect – you are lacking a little respect."
Jumping back in, the reporter suggested Galtier had given an answer that was not in line with the question being asked.
He was stopped in his tracks again as Galtier cut in, saying: "PSG have to play attacking, attractive football. It doesn't have to be spectacular, but it has to be effective to win. If the players can put on a spectacle and entertain the fans, of course we will do that."
Galtier is in his first season with PSG, having taken over from Mauricio Pochettino who led the Parisians to the French league title in 2021-22 but oversaw exits from the Coupe de France and Champions League at the last-16 stage.
If PSG fail to overturn their deficit against Bayern, they risk exactly the same outcome this season, providing they make sure of the Ligue 1 trophy.
Domestic league success was not enough for Pochettino to be retained and the same may apply for Galtier, who on taking the PSG job said it was one that comes with "more pressure than anywhere else".
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Juve must play at their limits against in-form Lille, warns Motta
Thiago Motta stressed the importance of Juventus playing at their very best when they face Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Juve face a tough task against a side who have already upset Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in this season's competition.
This will be the first ever meeting between these teams.
However, Juve have lost three of their last four Champions League matches against French opponents (W1), including both against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022-23 campaign. and Motta warned against any complacency.
"All matches are important. We, as Juventus, always want to win. The most important thing is always trying to improve," Motta told reporters on Monday.
"Lille are very confident, and we want to face them in optimal condition. We aim to give more than our maximum.
"There are no favourites in a match. It's a beautiful game, in a beautiful stadium, and we hope the pitch will be in good condition tomorrow. We can only talk tomorrow about who played better."
Motta will have midfielder Douglas Luiz from injury, but is still without a glut of players.
"He's [Luiz] one more player who can help the team. We’ll be missing Arek [Arkadiusz Milik], Gleison [Bremer] and [Nicolas Gonzalez]."
Lille boss Bruno Genesio knows Juve will present a stern test for his team, despite their shock wins over the Madrid clubs this term.
"Every Champions League match is different, but there is one essential parameter to get a result - commitment," he said.
"Like all Italian teams, Juventus are very well organised, very difficult to play against. Having already achieved two big results in this competition, we are going to give it our all again and we have our fans who will give us strength."
Jonathan David will be one of the standout Lille players Juve have to keep a close eye on.
The Canada international has scored six goals in his last eight Champions League appearances for Lille.
Lille have won all five games he has scored in but have not won any of the six games he has featured in without scoring (D2 L4).
Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
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