On Wednesday in Leipzig, the celebrations lasted only about forty minutes. Before, as often, that the light does not go out and come back on this dirty habit: the one that Paris has taken to blow (very little) the show and (a lot) the cold. As if anti-gambling had taken precedence over anti-freeze, PSG were unable to exploit Manchester’s misstep at Basaksehir. The scenario of defeat in Germany (2-1) has especially fueled a little more misunderstandings about its services, unworthy of a team valued at nearly a billion euros and carried by a brand new status of vice-champion from Europe.
Decimated by injuries, the King of France certainly did not have all his assets. And undoubtedly lacked benchmarks. Thomas Tuchel has already called on 29 different players in the first 12 games. Or one less than throughout last season. By way of comparison, Christophe Galtier, who deploys with Lille one of the most pleasant games in France, used only 20. The reasoning has its limits since the champion of France did not wait for the The current hecatomb and the absence of Neymar and Mbappé, his two contenders for the Golden Ball, to fuel the controversy as to his background and his performances on alternating current.
“Tuchel does not get the best out of other players”
“It’s been more than two years that it lasts, more than two years that Thomas Tuchel does not manage to put his playing principles in place, advance the former Parisian Jérôme Rothen. His system with four defenders behind a midfielder with three with a low point is too cautious. Against the big guys, he made the choice to suffer, to be less strong collectively to compete only with his individualities that are Neymar and Mbappé. And the RMC consultant to go further. “Since his arrival, the team has not progressed because with this formula, he does not get the best of other players. “
The German coach argues that “we can not expect from PSG perfection and spectacular matches every time”, explains that to put on a show, you need spectators. But this type of speech, “very often negative or full of excuses”, also participates, according to Eric Carrière, in the ups and downs of PSG. “We cannot draw the quintessence of a team by constantly looking for parachutes,” explains the Canal + consultant who will comment on the meeting this Saturday evening against Rennes. Yes, there is the Covid, yes there are a lot of matches, yes the Parisians take hits … But in an anxiety-provoking period like the one we are going through, the messages you send have an even stronger impact on the players. If you send negative messages, your team cannot be in a positive dynamic. “An analysis, which, according to him, also extends” to the flaws revealed by the dissonant speech “between Leonardo and Tuchel and which undoubtedly divide the locker room.
A physical preparation far from optimal
“But we must not evacuate the responsibility of the players, advance Jérôme Rothen, they are the ones on the ground. As soon as they do something good, I have the impression that there is a kind of self-satisfaction that unconsciously allows them to stop making the effort. “In attitudes, in fact, we are far from this PSG which, from Madrid to Dortmund, ran in one stride to make defensive efforts and prove that the Fantastic Four could be aligned together. “It lasted two months”, continues the host of RMC. “Today, they behave as if the mere fact of having played a Champions League final is enough to win the matches. This is not how it works. “
Even less when the pandemic gets involved. “The percentage of injuries has increased everywhere, assures Olivier Rodriguez, the physical trainer of Le Havre. Suddenly, we seek the same players, who rest less and are less efficient. ”An even more complex issue for Paris. “We must not forget that PSG has been confined for weeks, unlike other European clubs, he continues. He therefore had to make a very short preparation aiming to be effective immediately in Final 8. But we cannot win on all fronts, it was necessarily done to the detriment of the bottom which allows to hold on the medium or long term. “
