Paris Saint-Germain traveled to face LOSC this Friday in the opening match of Ligue 1 Matchday 2 and snatched a 2-2 draw right at the death. After the match, Marquinhos—the capital club’s 32-year-old defender and captain—shared his thoughts on the game and the goal he scored deep into stoppage time.
Marquinhos: “We know we are far from being at 100%.”
“The positive aspect of this start to the season is really the mentality. The energy from the substitutes—we rely heavily on everyone. I think that over these first two matchdays, we’ve seen that this has given us something extra to go out and secure these two important points.
We know we are far from being at 100%. At the start of the season, we are playing against title contenders. These are top-level teams, Champions League-caliber sides. It’s tough, and whenever we aren’t at 100%, that difficulty shows in the result. We’re making small errors—which is normal early in the season—but we need to work on them to improve.”
Marquinhos: “We always try to give our all on the pitch.”
“We need time, but we don’t necessarily have it for training because we’ve had to play very important matches right from the start of the season. These are important points. They’ll count for a lot at the end of the season when we tally up the points against our rivals. We’re going to keep going like this to keep improving and get back to our best form.
The second goal? I know that late in a game, there’s always a bit of space at the far post. I try to find that space; Viti put in a great ball, and I just had to place the header. It feels good—regardless of who scores, we always try to give our all on the pitch.” “We saw everyone happy; everyone celebrated that goal. It was a very difficult match, and this point is crucial for what lies ahead.”
PSG came away miraculously well with a draw snatched in the dying moments of stoppage time. If there is one thing that cannot be criticized today, it is the Parisian team’s mentality. Just as they did against Stade Rennais (2-2), Luis Enrique’s men fought back from a 2-0 deficit to secure a draw.
While there are inevitably aspects of the overall performance to critique, one must also focus on the positives and acknowledge the determination shown by the Rouge et Bleu. Naturally, the hope is for a win in the next match—the first home game of the season—this coming Friday. Yet, these two draws remain very positive, as they demonstrate the strength of the team as a collective unit.
