Marquinhos refuses to use Messi and Neymar excuse for PSG defeat

2023 didn’t get off to the start PSG had in mind after crashing to their first Ligue 1 defeat of the season on New Year’s Day.

Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos refused to blame Lionel Messi and Neymar’s absences for the 3-1 defeat to Lens, insisting their opponents were simply the better team.

The Ligue 1 leaders lost their first game of the season at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Sunday. Despite Hugo Ekitlke canceling out Przemyslaw Frankowski’s opener for Lens, PSG couldn’t hold on. Lois Openda and Alexis Claude-Maurice added two more goals for the home side, leaving the final score at 3-1.

PSG played the match without Messi, who was on holiday following the World Cup, and the suspended Neymar.

“They are great players who make the difference,” Marquinhos told Amazon Prime Video about the former Barcelona duo’s absence.

“But we have already won without them.

“We have to find the cohesion of our team again. I think Lens were more efficient, especially in the first half. They won the duels which made the difference. We had opportunities to come back, to score, but we weren’t able to be as efficient as they were.”

Sunday’s loss also marked the first time PSG had lost under Christophe Galtier since the Frenchman replaced Mauricio Pochettino last summer.

The Parisians return to action on Friday away to third-tier side LB Chateauroux in the French Cup.