Paris Saint-Germain beat RB Salzburg 0-3 (highlights Salzburg/PSG) on Tuesday at the Red Bull Arena as part of matchday 6 of the Champions League 2024-2025 league phase. After the match, RMC Sport journalist Daniel Riolo (After Foot) was less than thrilled with the Parisians’ performance.
Riolo “With the level PSG are at right now, you can’t even beat a sick City”
“With the level PSG are at right now, you can’t even beat a sick City. PSG doesn’t have a good level. On the pitch, at the back… even that bad Salzburg managed to create gaps where you tell yourself that if he’s a good striker, he might go all the way. If we’re completely lucid and objective, we’re still bored.»
Riolo “I don’t think the performance was crazy”.
Opposite, it was very weak. Some of the players… it really wasn’t that great. Collectively, it’s fine. But the best player, the one who created the most, was Hakimi. I don’t think the performance was crazy. But we needed to do ourselves some good, we needed to breathe a little because of the pressure around the club. They must show against OL that things are going a little better.”
What do you want Daniel Riolo to say? He’s been bashing PSG, its coaches and management for months now. It’s not a performance against a team in great difficulty that’s going to change his mind. This was to be expected. Even a win against City wouldn’t be incredible enough, given the Citizens’ difficulties. Riolo maintains his stance, which is obviously widely shared.
PSG didn’t play the greatest match in their history, but to say that Salzburg had gaps is to sell an alternative reality to those who listen to him. PSG played high, pressed high and the Austrians tried to get forward (fortunately). There was no danger. What’s more, Riolo likes to talk about “if a better striker had been in front”, but he needs to be reminded that it’s easy to see this fact one way and not the other.
You never hear him say “if PSG had created so many chances, the score would have been incredible”. No, we only remember the two “complicated” minutes. In fact, we’re reminded of what he said after the Girona match, “PSG monopolized the ball”… for two minutes. And yet, after the reactions, that was all that remained, despite the outrageous domination of the Parisians.
