Paris Saint-Germain's faltering Champions League campaign came in for savage scrutiny on Wednesday from international sports writers questioning the choices of coach Luis Enrique and the performance of star players in the 1-0 defeat at Bayern Munich.
The Spanish paper AS described as doomed Enrique's decision to drop the Italy international goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma and replace him with Matvey Safonov.
Safonov's first-half blunder gifted Min-Jae Kim the chance to score Bayern's goal. AS was also critical of the France international Ousmane Dembélé who was sent off early in the second-half for a second bookable offence.
"‘Dembélé's blunders continue to detract more than they add to a Paris Saint-Germain side that is on the ropes in the continent's top competition," wrote Andrés Onrubia in the paper.
In Germany, Kicker singled out Safonov as PSG's weak link.
"Everyone is responsible for things in good times and bad," Enrique told the French broadcaster Canal+. We mustn't always go looking for heros and villains."
The third defeat in five games left PSG 26th in the 36-team table, one place outside the qualifying slots for the two-leg play-offs for the last-16 knockout phase.
Gonçalo Ramos, who made his return off the bench after injury, said the French Ligue 1 champions were still confident of advancing to the next round.
"We are all disappointed but there's nothing more we can do," said the Portugal international who made his return to action on Tuesday night after a three-month injury lay-off.
"We are focused on the next game," added the 23-year-old. "We can still go to the next round and we are focused on that. We will keep working. It's not the end of the Champions League for us."
PSG travel to RB Salzburg on 10 December before hosting Manchester City in January. They finish their group stage campaign in Stuttgart.
Aims
On Wednesday night in the Champions League, Ligue 1's two other representatives Lille and Monaco take on Bologna and Benfica respectively.
Lille, who have seven points from their four games, play at a side looking for their first win in the tournament. Monaco are aiming to consolidate their position among the top eight automatic qualifiers.
"We obviously want to win and keep our position in the standings," said Monaco boss Adi Hütter.
"To do that, we'll have to be strong defensively and good in transition. We'll have to be brave on the pitch. We have the opportunity to take a very big step towards qualification."
After Benfica's visit, Monaco take on English Premier League sides Arsenal and Aston Villa. They finish the group stages against Inter Milan.
