Laurent Blanc has admitted that Paris Saint-Germain were made to work for their victory away to Montpellier HSC.
Les Rouges et Bleu needed a second-half strike from Blaise Matuidi to seal three points against La Paillade.
However, Blanc is convinced that the combination of high temperatures and the playing surface were contributing factors.
He is quoted by Ligue 1.com as saying: "It's always easy to say that we didn't push it. Our victory wasn't easy, it was perhaps the most difficult yet. The state of the pitch and the heat made life difficult for both sides. In spite of that, we remained solid defensively.
"There are a lot of things that need looking at, but we're trying to find top form. From the very first minute, I had to change a player. [Ezequiel] Lavezzi had only 45 minutes in him. It'll take a few matches for all the players to be ready. We have a quality squad, but every team wants to beat us.
"We should have kept the ball better. We weren't clinical enough up front. We manage to bring the ball out well thanks to [Kevin] Trapp, whose play with the ball at his feet is essential for us, but we need to translate that into penetration. That's what our forwards lacked this evening."
PSG lost Javier Pastore after 10 minutes when the Argentine midfielder limped off at the Stade de la Mosson.
Chris O'Keefe
