Paris (AFP)

Paris SG coach Thomas Tuchel, who has to deal with the absence of his star strikers Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Edinson Cavani, said Tuesday that his team was "ready" for this "big challenge" against Real Madrid on Wednesday. in the Champions League.

"It's a big, big challenge, it's also a great opportunity to show that we can deliver a good collective performance, I think we're ready for that," said the German technician, who is waiting for the initiative of his players.

"It's our character to be active, I want to stay active, play aggressively, quickly, take balloons to find solutions, I want to play bravely to win this match. "he continued.

Faced with Zinédine Zidane's prestigious formation, for a highly anticipated match, "TT" will have to contend with an attack cut off from its best assets: Neymar is suspended, while Mbappé and Cavani are injured.

To occupy the axis, he will have to choose between Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, author of a good start to the season (3 goals in L1) but who has never played a game of this level with PSG, and Mauro Icardi, the Argentinean recruit, whose state of form raises questions.

"For Mauro, I do not know in what physical state he is, nor how many minutes he can play, maybe we have to try, to start," said the coach.

"We lack attackers, everyone knows, but we have to find solutions, I trust my players, and I'm sure we'll have a strong team in the field tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said. he continued, praising the "good + spirit" of his players.

"These players (who are absent) are very important to us, we are not happy not to have them tomorrow, but we know that the squad is very big, that the other players can be very good," he said. Marco Verratti on his side.

The two men were on the same wavelength to minimize the importance of this gala - the first European shock for PSG after the humiliation in 8th last season against Manchester United.

"It's the first match of the group, but it's not the game that decides," said the German.

"It's a decisive but important match for the rest," said the Italian, before a dangerous trip to Turkey against Galatasaray on the next day.

© 2019 AFP