Leipzig and PSG fight for their place in history (Laia Bonals)

The story is quoted this Tuesday at the Estádio da Luz. The clash between RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals of the Champions League (9pm, Movistar Champions League) is a unique opportunity for both teams to finally get the orelluda. In the first of the two Franco-German semi-finals of this year’s European competition, the two teams arrive with the desire to reach the final in Lisbon on Sunday with all the meat on the grill. Neither has ever won the European competition, but what is certain is that the winner will have a guaranteed place in the desired final.

The Frenchman, led by Thomas Tuchel, will be able to count on Kylian Mbappé from the start and for the first time since he started the Champions League again. However, it will not be the Frenchman’s first minutes since the resumption of the Champions League, as the coach made him enter the pitch to play the last half hour of the match against Atalanta. Tuchel, reflecting on the match against the Germans, said yesterday that he is sure it will be “a very, very physical match”, as the players of the German team are “very aggressive and brave”. Who is sure to be the protagonist in the match is Neymar. The Brazilian already had a brilliant performance against Atalanta beating the record for successful dribbles in a match in European competition (22). In the semifinals, Neymar wants to prove that he remains one of the megacracks of football.

Will the loser go to the third?

The Brazilian left Barcelona three seasons ago and in none of the seasons since he has been part of the Paris team has the French gone from eighth, except this year. In fact, it had been 25 years since the Gauls had made it past the quarter-finals of the continental competition. In the history of PSG, the team has never taken the orelluda and Neymar hopes, and wishes, to be able to finally lift it in this edition. Tuchel will not be able to count on Marco Verratti -injured since August 4- or Keylor Navas, his starting goalkeeper, due to the injury he suffered in the hamstrings in the quarter-final match.

Although the French are the main favorites to take the victory in the duel, Leipzig is clear that the opportunity is unique. The team led by Julian Nagelsmann showed off their organization and good game in the tie against Atletico Madrid. In a balanced mix of veteran and youth, the Germans want to surprise the French champion with a combinatorial and intense game. The coach would not have many reasons to make many changes in the lineup of the last round based on the smooth running of the team throughout the match. With a three-man defense, led by Upamecano -who played a very good role-, Nagelsmann’s men will try to fight the direct attacks of the offensive duo formed by Neymar and Mbappé.

The two German coaches will meet again in an official match. Tuchel and Nagelsmann shared a dressing room for Augsburg’s second team in 2008, albeit in different roles. Tuchel was Nagelsmann’s coach in the year of his retirement. Years later, in the 2016-2017 season, they faced, now from the bench, in the Bundesliga. With a draw and a victory for Tuchel, Nagelsmann tries to reverse the balance and thus be able to achieve the desired victory that brings the German team to its first European trophy. Only two matches separate the protagonists of the most special Champions League final in history. In a single-match semifinal everything is possible, and both sets are aware of it. Parisians know that for a long time they were not so close to raising the orelluda, but they will face a team that, with the clear idea of ​​play that Nagelsmann has, will not make things easy for them just to carry the favorite poster.