"We Have Already Won Without Them": Marquinhos Refuses To Use Messi & Neymar Excuse For PSG Defeat To Lens

The Ligue 1 leaders suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday, with Przemyslaw Frankowski, Lois Openda, and Alexis Claude-Maurice all finding the back of the net in a 3-1 defeat at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. 

Christophe Galtier’s side were without two of their star players, with Lionel Messi just returning from a post-World Cup victory break and Neymar suspended due to a red card against Strasbourg.

However, Marquinhos refused to cite the lack of the former Barcelona pair, instead suggesting PSG were simply outclassed by a superior opponent.

“They are great players who make the difference,” Marquinhos told Amazon Prime Video about the former Barcelona duo’s absence.

“But we have already won without them.

“We have to find the cohesion of our team again. I think Lens were more efficient, especially in the first half. They won the duels which made the difference. We had opportunities to come back, to score, but we weren’t able to be as efficient as they were.”

PSG’s defeat marked their first in Ligue 1 since March of last year, when they were bested by Monaco, thus ending their remarkable 25-game unbeaten streak in the top-flight.