Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos and coach Mauricio Pochettino both slammed the performance of the Ligue 1 leaders in Sunday's defeat to Monaco.
The 3-0 loss, in which Wissam Ben Yedder scored a double either side of Kevin Volland's goal, is the heaviest defeat PSG have suffered in Ligue 1 since a 5-1 loss at Lille in April 2019.
PSG have now lost three of their last five games in Ligue 1, as many as they did from their previous 36 matches (27 wins and six draws).
It also represented PSG's heaviest loss to Monaco since September 1999, when the principality club defeated them by the same scoreline in Paris, and Marquinhos did not hold back in his criticism of the display.
"It's hard to digest. It's our worst game of the year," he told reporters.
"We came here to have fun and win a game. We are in a difficult moment.
"You can't just throw it all away. We all have to work together to get out of this moment."
Marquinhos stopped short of suggesting that PSG's recent Champions League elimination at Real Madrid has led the team to drop off, but claimed they could still lose their 13-point Ligue 1 lead without major improvements.
"It is not a relaxation," he added. "There were a lot of expectations [against Real Madrid]. It's a defeat that hurts us.
"Now we have goals to look for. We have to do our best, with the right mentality.
"If we continue to perform like that, it is sure that the title is in danger. The alert is there. We will have to come back [from the international break] with a good state of mind."
PSG boss Pochettino has now lost eight of his first 50 league games in the Parisian dugout, the same amount that his predecessor Thomas Tuchel suffered in his first half-century of matches.
Pochettino repeated Marquinhos's criticism of the performance after the match, calling his team's display "unacceptable".
"It is inadmissible to start this way," Pochettino said of PSG's dire first-half showing. "Afterwards, there is sporting shame.
"Now we have to move on, get over the frustration of the Champions League and think about giving our best, and have a competitive spirit.
"This is unacceptable. This first half is unacceptable. We didn't have a fighting spirit, the way we played is not acceptable.
"This cannot happen, we can have [bad] performances, but this type of attitude is not possible. It's unacceptable to start the match this way. Respect for the club, [and for] our supporters, is essential."
Carragher says Liverpool may need to move on from Salah and Nunez
Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool's next manager has a big decision to make regarding Mohamed Salah's future, adding the Reds definitely need to move on from Darwin Nunez.
Liverpool's title hopes suffered a potentially fatal blow at Goodison Park on Wednesday, as goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin handed Everton a memorable 2-0 win.
The defeat – Liverpool's first at Goodison since 2010 – means they are three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and one clear of Manchester City, who have two games in hand.
Jurgen Klopp now looks likely to end his final season at the helm with just February's EFL Cup triumph to show for his efforts, with Carragher declaring Liverpool's title hopes to be over on Wednesday.
He also believes Klopp's successor – which could be Feyenoord's Arne Slot if reports are to be believed – may need to shake up Liverpool's frontline.
"Mo Salah is Liverpool's goalscorer and he's gone off the boil. That's shone a light on others," Carragher told Sky Sports.
"There is a real discussion for the new manager about what the future holds for Mo Salah – it's the first time we've asked that question. He only has a year to go on his deal.
"He's looked a shadow of himself for a lot of this season but especially since he's come back from injury. He is Liverpool's legend, superstar, one of the all-time greats, but he's been so far off it."
Salah has 17 Premier League goals this season, but 14 of those came before he went to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in January.
Prior to that tournament, Salah boasted a shot conversion rate of 21.54 per cent for 2023-24, netting with 14 of his 65 total attempts in the competition. Since returning, he has only converted 8.57 per cent of his 35 efforts.
Salah's strike partner Nunez has also come in for criticism, with only Erling Haaland (30) missing more big chances than the Uruguayan's 26 this term. Haaland has, however, converted 34.78 per cent of his big chances to Nunez's 18.75 per cent.
Carragher does not believe Nunez is capable of further improvement after two up-and-down campaigns on Merseyside, saying: "I think I'm at the stage with Nunez where I'm not sure there's a question to ask.
"You want him to do well because he gives everything, he causes trouble, he gets the odd goal.
"But after two years, when Liverpool are going for the title or in big games, you need your man to score at Old Trafford or at Goodison Park. This is the business end, the time to win.
"He's ground to a halt. After two years there's going to be no improvement in him. This is what he is.
"He can cause trouble but he's erratic with his finishing – it's not enough to win you trophies so there's a big decision to be made on him. It's not acceptable when you're going for a title."
Guardiola insists Man City share same title hunger as challengers
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City share the same hunger to lift the Premier League trophy as their title rivals, warning perfection may still be needed for the champions to retain their crown.
It has been a mixed week for City's rivals thus far, with Arsenal thrashing Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday before Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat in Wednesday's Merseyside derby at Everton.
Those results mean the Gunners sit four points clear of City and Liverpool lead the champions by one, but with two games in hand, the title race is still very much in City's hands.
They go to Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday before facing Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and Guardiola still thinks even the slightest slip-up could prove costly.
Asked whether City need to win their six remaining games to win the title, Guardiola said: "Yes, absolutely. They gave us a chance, with the fact they lost last week to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
"But we knew what we had to do before those games, and now we have to win all games so that at the end, we have it in our hands to retain our title.
"Nothing changes. The fact is, we knew what we had to do before, and now nothing has changed."
Guardiola was then asked whether City are as motivated to win the title as their rivals, having lifted the trophy in five of their seven seasons under him to date.
He said: "I would not be here [if not]. There are so many games, and to be in this position after what we have done in the past, it would not be possible [without the desire].
"We know the difficulty is extreme, and it will remain difficult because we have tough games coming up. We go one game at a time, and we know that if we lose, it will be so tough to retain the title.
"Last Saturday proved the many difficulties we have, especially the schedule and recovery time after the game against [Real] Madrid. The players were unbelievable."
Guardiola hit out at the busy nature of the schedule after Saturday's FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea, saying he couldn't understand how his players had managed to perform just three days after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Madrid.
Those comments have sparked renewed debate about the football calendar, and Guardiola was asked whether elite clubs had a right to complain while organising money-spinning pre-season tours around the globe.
"Yeah, but we have to do it," he said. "We have to pay the salaries of the players and the manager, and the club has fans all around the world who want to see us. They are an income for us.
"It's not easy, but we have to get resources. I would love to say don't go to another continent to play, have another week of holiday, and then train here. But we have to understand the club.
"It's not just Man City. Every club needs those financial resources to be sustainable. Now that we've won a lot, for many years, we have a lot of supporters. That's why it's necessary to do, and you have to adapt.
"But that is not the reason why [he complained]. The reason is that the schedule is so tight. I'm sorry, it's not."
PSG made to wait for Ligue 1 title after Monaco overcome Lille
PSG were forced to put their Ligue 1 title celebrations on ice after second-placed Monaco overcame Lille on Wednesday.
Luis Enrique's side swept aside Lorient 4-1 after doubles from Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe, putting the pressure on the chasing Monaco.
Yet Youssouf Fofana's third league goal of the season edged Adi Hutter's team to a 1-0 victory, delaying PSG's inevitable title success – barring a miraculous collapse.
PSG, who also have a two-legged Champions League semi-final with Borussia Dortmund to come in May, are 11 points clear with just four top-flight games remaining.
Having lost just once in Ligue 1 all season, PSG would secure back-to-back top-flight crowns if they overcome Le Havre on Saturday at Parc des Princes.
Though victory appears likely against relegation-threatened Le Havre, the Parisians would still be crowned champions without victory if Monaco fail to win on their visit to Lyon the following day.
Given the clash with Dortmund comes just four days after meeting Le Havre, Luis Enrique may rest the likes Bradley Barcola, Marquinhos, Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery, as he did against Lorient.
While the title remains in PSG's hands, Monaco at least took a step closer to Champions League qualification with victory over Lille, sitting 10 points clear of fifth-placed Nice.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
