Leipzig (Germany) (AFP)

The absence of Neymar and Mbappé in the Paris SG team Wednesday "is certainly not a disadvantage" for Leipzig, ruled Tuesday the coach of RB Julian Nagelsmann before the rehearsal of the semi-final of August Wednesday in Champions League.

The young coach asked his players to approach the confrontation with the Parisians "like a knockout duel", given the configuration of the group, and the two victories already acquired by Manchester.

Main points of his virtual pre-match press conference:

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The absences of Neymar and Mbappé

Nagelsmann: "It's certainly not the worst time to play Paris SG, but we also have several injuries. Obviously it is not a disadvantage for us that Mbappé and Neymar do not play, they are fantastic players. But PSG have other very good players, which a lot of teams in Europe would like to have in their ranks. With Neymar and Mbappé, PSG would be a bit stronger, but we would also be a bit stronger if we all had our players. "

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The duel with Tuchel

"Tomorrow (Wednesday) is not a coaching duel, but it is two teams. We are trying to prepare our teams well, to put the necessary freshness on the field, to have the best preparation, to make sure the boys are 100% there, that's what Thomas is going to do, that's what I'm going to try to do. Obviously I want to win, but less against him than against Paris. "

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Take four points against Paris

"I see these two matches against Paris as a knockout duel. With a loss tomorrow it would not be completely over, but we would find ourselves under extreme pressure in Paris, with the obligation to win. This is for us. to take four points as much as possible against Paris to keep our destiny in our hands in this group. There is of course pressure, but it is not exceptional in the group stage of the Champions League ".

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Lessons from the August semi-final

The lessons we learned from our defeat are not necessarily tactical in nature.

It is not only a question of composition, or of positioning, it is also an attitude in the duels, a conviction.

It's not that the guys didn't feel like going in the semi-finals, but they have to be aware of their own strengths, of their own qualities.

Of course we are aware of the strength of the opponent, but we must say to ourselves that we are not in the Champions League by chance, that we did not eliminate Tottenham and Atlético Madrid by chance.

In the second half in Lisbon we were at their level, and our first ten minutes were also very good.

So we take the lesson that we don't have to hide, that if we are having a good day like we were against Atlético, we are also able to perform well against teams of the highest European level.

That's what we want to show tomorrow. "

© 2020 AFP