Newsletter

Tuchel and PSG offer themselves a breath of fresh air – Ligue 1

Thanks to the victory of his team and the support shown by his players, in words and especially deeds, the German coach has given himself a break.

Thomas Tuchel in danger, PSG in crisis? We were not far from it before the kick off of the shock of the 10th day against Rennes on Saturday. Admittedly, the dynamic of the Breton club before landing at the Parc des Princes, with a victory over the previous seven matches in all competitions, was not really brilliant. Especially since the prodigy Camavinga was forfeited. But Rennes has often played nasty tricks at PSG in recent years, like the final of the Coupe de France 2019, the Parisian infirmary is overflowing (Neymar, Mbappé, Verratti …) and the setbacks suffered in the Champions League, against Manchester United (1-2) and Leipzig (2-1), put the champions of France in a difficult position.

Add to that a coach isolated from his direction, contested and questionable choices (Marquinhos / Danilo), and you have an explosive situation. Because if the financial aspect is one of the factors that protect Tuchel, Leonardo would not have much choice if the group had resolutely let him go. However, the first half in Leipzig last Wednesday and this clear, clean and flawless victory against Rennes (3-0) do not show that.

» READ ALSO – Notes after PSG-Rennes: Di Maria guide Paris
» READ ALSO – PSG: soon, it will be up to the gardener to play …

This probably does not mean that the players would go to clash with Leonardo or Nasser Al-Khelaïfi to save their coach. But like their collective performance last Saturday, they are ready to make the effort and put the ingredients on the ground. And this despite the difficulties of the moment. “It was very hard to find an 11 holder,” Tuchel noted after the game, referring to the injured, but also the ghosts and those who play too much. Example? Ander Herrera, “already dead before the match” and “really dead” after. Moreover, this PSG-Rennes has again brought its share of injuries, with in particular Idrissa Gueye (ischios) and Thilo Kehrer (pubalgie) who could be absent for a moment. “I am very proud because we were playing against Rennes, 3rd in the standings and who play the C1, jubilated” Herr Tuchel “, at the microphone of Canal+, between two hitches with Olivier Tallaron. We still showed mentality and solidarity, it was a collective effort. I’m very happy with that and it’s a great victory. ”

“It’s sport: there are hard, sad moments, but we have to bounce back”

Thomas Tuchel

The eighth in a row in L1. Enough to be five points ahead of the leaderboard over Lille (24 pts against 19), six over Rennes and OM (18 pts) and seven over Lyon, Monaco, Montpellier and Nice (17 pts). The break is already made. “We can see the difference between the top and the very high level”, plague the Breton captain Damien Da Silva. “We missed a lot of things, summarizes Julien Stéphan. There was more realism, efficiency, cunning, intensity in them. We still have a lot of progress to make to fight against these teams, a lot of things to correct. ” And yet, it was not a great PSG opposite. “The result is better against Leipzig, but we did not play better,” confirms Tuchel, who was able to rely on a united group and the talent of a few individuals, such as the promising Moise Kean (“At the moment, I wouldn’t want to be a defender against him ”), and especially Angel Di Maria, author of a double. “After the missed penalty in Leipzig, he was very sad. He still took his responsibilities today and he gave the answer. It’s sport. There are hard, sad times, but we have to bounce back and he did. “

» READ ALSO – PSG: Kean, things are getting serious
» READ ALSO – Tuchel to Tallaron: “You have no respect”

An observation that Tuchel would no doubt like to be able to generalize to his entire team in the coming weeks. This would require turning the tide against Leipzig in C1, on November 24. Until then, Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappé, Presnel Kimpembe, Mauro Icardi, Pablo Sarabia, Moise Kean, Alessandro Florenzi or Marco Verratti may all be good for the service. “We try to do our best but it is not easy, confesses Di Maria, on C+. We cannot pretend nothing has happened. We didn’t have a preseason, we were in the Champions League final, we didn’t have time to work and there were a lot of cases of Covid-19, injuries… ”

And the Argentine international with 85 goals and 95 assists in Paris (229 matches) to add, when asked if the players are still behind Tuchel: “Of course. We were in the Champions League final (1-0 defeat against Bayern on August 23), he’s a great coach. He did the maximum for us and we do the maximum for him. He has our full confidence, and of course he has confidence in us too. ”

Ten more matches on the menu in 2020

“Even if we lost in Leipzig, nobody is going to give up, everyone is ready to help, promises Herrera. This is why I am proud. And we won against a good team. The players with the coach? Always. I’ve been playing pro for 11-12 seasons. I have never seen a team that is not with its coach. We’re with him, of course. We have come out of a fantastic season, we have a fantastic group, all together, no problem. We’re not talking about what’s going on outside. For me, it’s nothing. ” In the meantime, this great success and the state of mind displayed on Saturday offers a little respite to PSG and its coach. A parenthesis that it is up to Tuchel and his players to make last.

Of course, if the injury epidemic that has been plaguing the club for weeks could stop, that would help a little … Because for the rest, no time to breathe: there are still ten games on the menu from here. at the end of the year, after the international break. First stop? Friday, November 20 on the side of Louis II, with a duel against AS Monaco. Four days later, it will be time to get attached to Leipzig. A quits or doubles.

.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending