Kylian Mbappé, disappointed. - David Ramos / AP / SIPA

From our special correspondent in Lisbon,

Head down, eyes wet, face disappointed, Thiago Silva is the first Parisian player to get off the bus to return to the Myriad hotel. The Brazilian knows he missed his last chance to win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain. “It was my last match in Paris. I am sad, he concedes at the microphone of RMC Sport. I apologize to the supporters. I thank all the fans for their love. I will come back to Paris, this club that I loved, in another role. "

Thiago #Silva @RMCsport “It was my last match in Paris. I'm sad. I apologize to the supporters. I thank all the fans for their love. I will come back to Paris what club I liked in another role. I want to play 3-4 years again and compete in the CDM in Qatar ”

- Mohamed Bouhafsi (@mohamedbouhafsi) August 23, 2020

If this Final 8 constitutes an end for “o Monstro”, we can feel the PSG at the beginning of something. And despite the disappointment of the defeat, the missed opportunity to embark the Cup with big ears in Paname and the difficulty of entering this stage of the competition a second time, we very much want to be optimistic. For all kinds of reasons.

PSG has shed a weight

Barely recovered from elimination in the round of 16 against Manchester United last year, Thomas Tuchel said more or less in an interview with beIN that the more PSG failed at this stage of the competition, the more pressure they would have at the time. to validate his passage in quarters. By eliminating Borussia Dortmund in February, Paris blew up a barrier thought to have become impassable. As a bonus, the team has surpassed itself to achieve the best European season in its history. The skeptics will always be able to cry out in the format and in the advantageous table, the club of the capital did not usurp its place in the final. He therefore deserves a little respect and wins the right to no longer have the trembling arrived in the round of 16.

A group is born

The formula is a bit cliché, we agree, but the Parisian players and staff have put so much emphasis on it that it would be dishonest not to talk about it. Ander Hererra, still ringing after the defeat, Sunday evening:

“We built something important for the club, for our supporters. We're going to think about what we've done, about the group we've built. We're not going to put it all in the trash. We will be back next season. We have to stay together and the next dream starts on Saturday. "

The format of Final 8 and the health context pushed the team to live in isolation and by definition to come together. Don't you believe us? Read the old Parisian Valdo. “What I felt was the love between them, the friendship, the bond between the players and the coach. When it's like that, it's perfect. So there can only be good results.

Neymar finally on a mission in Paris

It is perhaps the one who comes out the most grown of this Final 8. At 28 years old, it was about time, you will say. Not a PSG supporter to whom we spoke in Lisbon, whether French, Portuguese or Brazilian, has not failed to be rave about the new mentality of the Ney. "We feel that he has grown up, that he has become a man," said Victor, one of them, before the final. Involved in the collective, leader in his own way outside - with his giant enclosure - and on the field - by dribbling and passing - gives the impression of having finally the heart in Paris. A year after his summer whim, even the most resentful supporters recognize it: PSG needs this Neymar to satisfy its ambitions. If possible with Mbappé. Because if they missed their final, these two are more than ever the pair.

Thomas Tuchel has gained in street credibility

It was said challenged in the locker room, limited to the highest level, Thomas Tuchel demonstrated in Lisbon that he had resources. If he planted in his starting XI against Atalanta, his changes allowed PSG to get back to the place. He then found the right formula to stifle Leipzig. Above all, he is the instigator of the group spirit that we spoke about above. In short, the Final 8 allowed the German to strengthen his aura in the locker room. He now has a season to convince Leonardo to extend him.

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PSG-Bayern Munich: Paris has displayed its limits and must still grow to take the leap

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