Christophe Galtier knows Paris Saint-Germain's hierarchy will "reflect" on his future after Sunday's dire defeat to Rennes, though he believes their display can be explained by a lengthy injury list.
PSG were booed off at half-time and full-time by a furious home crowd as Karl Toko Ekambi and Arnaud Kalimuendo netted either side of the interval in a routine win for Rennes.
PSG's defeat was their first on home soil in Ligue 1 since April 2021, when Galtier led former club Lille to a 1-0 triumph at the Parc des Princes before beating the Parisians to the title.
While Galtier looks likely to win his second domestic title this term, he has attracted criticism since overseeing a meek Champions League exit against Bayern Munich earlier this month.
Galtier knows PSG's latest humiliation will do nothing to quell speculation regarding his position, telling reporters: "I came for this project for two years, but we speculate on my future.
"My only obsession is to be champion. This match will perhaps cause my management to reflect, but we have to put things in context.
"This match should not call everything into question. There are no excuses but there are reasons. There are 10 matches left, we are ahead in Ligue 1.
"Losses always upset us. Afterwards, everyone has their reading of the game. You have yours and I have mine.
"In the current context, with so many absences – though it is not an excuse – we knew that we would have defensive fluctuations."
As well as long-term absentee Neymar, PSG were without defenders Achraf Hakimi, Presnel Kimpembe, Marquinhos and Sergio Ramos for Sunday's defeat, forcing Galtier to start inexperienced duo El Chadaille Bitshiabu and Timothee Pembele.
Given PSG's selection crisis, Galtier believes criticism of his team's attitude is unjustified, adding: "The players gave everything compared to what they had in their legs.
"You get the feeling that the players didn't give their all, but that's not how I feel.
"When a player walks into the locker room and knows that eight players are missing, and he sees young guys he has only seen once or twice before...
"My players were invested, after going 2-0 down to a team like Rennes, there may be a little resignation. There is a lot of fatigue. These are not excuses, just contextual elements."
PSG have now lost four of their seven Ligue 1 games this season against teams currently in the top five (W2 D1), including two against Rennes (also 1-0 in January).
Rennes are also just the third team to complete a Ligue 1 double over PSG since the club's 2011 takeover by Qatar Sports Investments, after Nancy in 2011-12 and Monaco in 2020-21.
Guardiola 'cannot imagine' Man City's Premier League success without Ederson
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's Premier League dominance in recent seasons would not have been possible without Ederson.
The Brazil goalkeeper's future at the Etihad Stadium is uncertain, amid speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Ederson has been an integral figure for City since his arrival from Benfica in 2017, with 112 clean sheets in 250 Premier League appearances under Guardiola, while recording a save percentage of 68.17.
The 30-year-old conceded just 26 goals last season as the Citizens won an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title - and their sixth since he joined the club.
Ederson's distribution has also been crucial to City's success, notably completing 942 of his 1,097 passes last term (85.87%).
"I wish from the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us," Guardiola said. "I would love him to stay.
"I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."
Ederson could feature for City on Saturday when they continue their pre-season tour of the United States against Paulo Fonseca's Milan at the Yankee Stadium.
Ten Hag targets further transfers as Man Utd prioritise squad depth
Erik ten Hag wants more transfer activity ahead of his third season in charge of Manchester United, saying the Red Devils must work to replicate their rivals' strength in depth.
Ten Hag signed a new contract after overseeing United's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, having previously been expected to depart.
Ahead of their first full season under the Jim Ratcliffe regime, United have spent an estimated £88million to acquire forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille.
But after United suffered more injuries causing a player to miss at least one match (45) than any other Premier League team last term, Ten Hag believes more is required.
"I want the squad as strong as possible," Ten Hag told reporters at a press conference ahead of Saturday's friendly versus Arsenal.
"We already made two very good buys, so when everyone is fit we have a team that can beat everyone.
"But also in squad depth, we have to catch up. We know that because when we had injuries, we were vulnerable, and we have to avoid this.
"First, by picking up fewer injuries. And second, our squad has to be that good in depth.
"Of course, we have the quality, but in the depth we have to catch up even more, because this will be a season that is survival of the fittest.
"We proved we can beat the best team. Not just once, we did it twice. Our challenge is to do it consistently, that's what we have to work for."
Slot hopes Jones 'recovers fast' after limping off against Betis
Arne Slot says Liverpool are waiting to discover the extent of Curtis Jones' injury, after the midfielder was forced off during the Reds' 1-0 victory over Real Betis.
The Dutchman oversaw his first win since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring the only goal in Pittsburgh.
It was the first match of the Reds' pre-season tour of the United States, though it remains to be seen how much of a part Jones will play after he limped off on the half-hour mark.
However, Slot said the decision to withdraw the midfielder was precautionary.
"I think it's too early to tell [how bad it is]," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "Maybe he could have played on, but I think maybe you could see he was not at 100%.
"In a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour, it was best to take him off. We hope he recovers really fast, so we can see him in the next few games.
"It's always a pity if he has to go off after 25 minutes, half an hour. And before that, you could see that he was not completely free.
"It was unfortunate because he had two really good weeks during the training sessions, so I looked forward to seeing him in the game, but unfortunately he had to go off.
Trey Nyoni replaced Jones for the remainder of the game, and Slot was pleased by the 17-year-old's impact.
"The good thing about that was that we brought someone [on] that impressed me in the 45 minutes to an hour he played afterwards.
"I think [Trey] did really well today, but it was only an hour. He was one of the reasons why we scored the goal, because he turned really quickly and [played] a spot-on pass in between the lines. And he was also involved in the biggest chance in the second half.
"We are really careful with him. So he doesn't join every session, and sometimes he goes off a bit earlier. You can see his quality, but you can also see his body still needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level. But he showed some interesting things today.
I think there were a few positive things and, of course, a few things we have to improve. But the positive thing is that we kept a clean sheet. I think we only conceded one big chance and that was somewhere around the last 10 minutes of the game.
"So, we controlled the game really well and, in between, we had a few good attacks where we created a few good chances and scored a good goal."
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