From our special correspondent in Lisbon,
While the Parisian supporters congregated behind the security barriers arranged in front of the Myriad hotel where the PSG is installed, the most important news of the day had just fallen. Thomas Tuchel decided to do without Mauro Icardi at the forefront of the attack to densify his midfield. With this simple movement, the German defeated a Julian Nagelsmann whom Tuchel himself feared before the match, but who was unable to react. As Angel Di Maria said so well after Paris' 3-1 victory against Leipzig: “We made them weak. We played very well. We put in energy, we knew we could qualify by doing that. We started the game very well and we didn't give them a chance. "
Aggressive, from the start
We can summarize the match in the first three minutes of the game. Leipzig, positioned very (too) low, lets the Parisians set foot on the ball. And when they get it back, they go too far away to be able to hope for anything. What was thought to be an observation round turned into an immutable scenario in which Leipzig could not do much. Only individual errors, such as this stupidly failed check by Paredes to 0-0, gave the Germans the leisure to venture into the opposing camp.
There are those who will say that the opponent was too weak. The others, like three quarters of Sky Italia consultants - and not the least - (see tweet below), rely on the Parisian control. Midfielder Paredes, Marquinhos and Herrera stifled the German primers and prevented the vertical play of defenders and opposing midfielders from expressing themselves by going to impact on the first touches of the ball, hampering the recovery and recovering the mass of balls . Herrera has been a role model in this regard. “We were above Leipzig, analyzes Sergio Rico. With the intensity we put, allied to the quality of the players, it's hard to give us problems. "
Capello: “PSG had a fantastic match. "
Del Piero:" PSG tired Leipzig and did not concede anything. "
Costacurta:" this meeting is proof that PSG is growing. We saw a very mature team this evening. "
[Sky Italia]
Tuchel forced the opponent to alter his game
If the goalkeeper of RB Leipzig, Peter Gulasci, regrets that his team could not "achieve a high level performance as against Atlético", he can also regret the intentions of his coach. Undoubtedly impressed by the Neymar festival in the previous round and wary of Kylian Mbappé's speed, Julian Nagelsmann reneged on the principles that led his team to the semi-finals. Instead of defending by advancing, he especially strove to frame the Neymar-Mbappé duo by lowering his line of defense. Except that by doing that, he gave more oxygen to the other craftsmen of the construction, including Angel Di Maria, statistically best Parisian of the season. Fatal error.
Adapting has always been Nagelsmann's strong point. That's how he went to concede a draw on Bayern's lawn in the Bundesliga (it was in February). But knowing how to impose your ideas is sometimes not bad. Thomas Tuchel: “The plan? It was to keep our principles, to control the spaces and to use the counter attacks. To use Di maria's qualities with the ball to play fast. Our players must feel comfortable in the scheme, that's why we haven't changed. We have to adapt to the opponent, but not too much. We want to play with our qualities, that's our strength. "
Paris has gained from experience
The other Parisian strength lies in its maturity. Admittedly, both teams were inexperienced at this stage of the competition, but individually Paris has in its workforce former Champions League winners (Navas, Neymar, Di Maria) and World Cup winners (Mbappé, Kimpembe). At this level, in the management of the event, that necessarily counts. And this is also what explains the feeling of helplessness on the side of RB Leipzig. Julian Nagelsmann, good player. “PSG have simply been better. We have to accept this. For the fourth time in as many attempts, the student bowed against Master Tuchel. The advent of youth will wait.
Sport
Leipzig-PSG: They are in the final! Paris eliminates a too tender Leipzig and approaches the European coronation
- Thomas tuchel
- Sport
- Champions League
- PSG