Blanc: We are in it together

Laurent Blanc believes there is collective responsibility to be taken following Paris Saint-Germain’s first Ligue 1 defeat of the season.

The French champions lost 1-0 at Guingamp on Sunday thanks to Jeremy Pied’s early goal for what was their second defeat in a week following a 3-1 reverse at Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

But while back-to-back losses build the pressure on Blanc, he feels everybody at the club is in it together.

“The reality is that this afternoon there was a lack of collective and individual concentration,” he told 20minutes.fr.

“This is our problem. In a team there are leaders, and when it’s not going the way you want, these leaders and also the coach, of course, they have to raise their game to ensure that the collective do too.

“Here we must say that tonight we are all put in the same bag, including me, because we have not been able to respond, although in the second half we could have equalised.”

PSG monopolised possession throughout the match and Edinson Cavani hit the bar, but goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu insists they must learn from the defeat. 

“We did not play well tonight, obviously,” he told the club’s official website.

“We’ll have to work it out with the coach in the week to try to understand what went wrong. We must face the difficulties when the situation is more difficult.

“When defeat comes, you have to face it without fear.”