Christophe Galtier has held talks with Presnel Kimpembe to make clear that the centre-back stays considered one of Paris Saint-Germain’s vice-captains.
Kylian Mbappe wore the captain’s armband in Monday’s 7-0 Coupe de France win over sixth-tier Pays de Cassel within the absence of normal skipper Marquinhos.
Chatting with reporters after the cup rout, Galtier stated Mbappe – who scored 5 instances – “deserves” to be second captain when Marquinhos just isn’t out there.
Kimpembe, who has not performed since November attributable to a heel damage, took to social media on Tuesday to state he had not been beforehand knowledgeable about Galtier’s determination.
Nonetheless, PSG head coach Galtier has since mentioned the matter with Kimpembe to dissipate any misunderstanding.
“I expressed myself badly on Monday,” Galtier stated at a pre-match press convention forward of Sunday’s Ligue 1 match with Reims.
“The alternatives are very clear: Kylian is likely one of the vice-captains. Each time Kimpembe has been on the sector and Marquinhos hasn’t been, Kimpembe has had the armband.
“When Marquinhos isn’t out there, there may be one other captain. Within the Lens match there was neither Kimpembe, Marco [Verratti] nor Marquinhos, so Kylian was captain.
“I made a decision to have Kylian as captain within the final sport as a result of he is likely one of the vice-captains, not ‘the’ vice-captain. I’ve had a dialogue with Kimpembe to clarify all this.”
PSG’s victory in opposition to Pays de Cassel got here on the again of a 1-0 loss to Rennes of their most up-to-date Ligue 1 match as their lead on Lens on the summit was minimize to 3 factors.
Nonetheless, not since September 2020 have they misplaced successive league matches, whereas their return of 47 factors after 19 matches is their fifth-best ever at this stage.
The reigning champions face a tricky check this weekend, although, as they host a Reims aspect unbeaten in 11 Ligue 1 video games – the longest run of any aspect within the division.
“Will probably be a troublesome match for us to start this run of video games,” Galtier stated. “They’ve modified system and coach, and we all know will probably be a problem for us.
“We now have Kimpembe again in coaching and Marco Verratti is again with the group. We’ve got to deal with the calendar and focus extra on restoration.”
PSG are unbeaten of their previous 31 Ligue 1 video games on the Parc des Princes, successful 27 of these, and have scored in every of the previous 20 on house soil.