Beaten 1-0 in the knockout stages of the Champions League in the first leg, PSG travel to Bavaria to try to overthrow Bayern Munich. Christophe Galtier is preparing for a potential penalty shootout.
The France team in the World Cup final or at Euro 2020, Rennes and Monaco in the Europa League. Lately, French football has been angry with the penalty shootouts. While some coaches consider it a lottery, others dedicate specific training sessions to improving the techniques of different shooters or helping goalkeepers perform better on their line. PSG, which lost 1-0 at the Parc des Princes in its round of 16 first leg against Bayern Munich, could go through this famous penalty shootout if the capital club wins by a goal difference against the Germans after 90 then 120 minutes of play. A possibility considered by Christophe Galtier who spoke about the specific sessions on this subject.
Galtier refutes the idea that the penalty session is a lottery
“I am convinced that this is not a lottery. The players don’t work on the gesture technically, because training is one thing, but the environment is different in a match after 120 minutes. Me, I have a fairly clear strategy on the order of the shooters. Sometimes the last one doesn’t have time to shoot, nor the 4th one. The best shooters have to make the decision to shoot as quickly as possible.” confided the PSG coach at a press conference. A reference to different strategies in some teams, where coaches put the best shooters in 5th, when the pressure is maximum. This is what Brazil did against Croatia in the World Cup for example, but Neymar had not even had time to shoot that the Seleçao had already left …
Paris SG has played only one penalty shootout in its history, it was on December 6, 2001 against Glasgow Rangers in the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup. Once again, it is the French club which has not been successful. PSG youth team also recently lost in the Youth League Round of 16 to Borussia Dortmund in the penalty shootout. Christophe Galtier is aware that his season could be played on this exercise dreaded by many players. The 56-year-old coach suggests that he made his players work on this point. It remains to be seen whether the result will be positive for the Parisians in the event of a session.