Tuchel, the man who whispers in Mbappé's ear.

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OZAN ​​KOSE / AFP

  • PSG provided the essentials by winning 2-0 Wednesday night on the lawn of Basaksehir, in Istanbul.

  • However, this facade success masks a completely different reality.

    The Parisians did not indeed offer much in the game and were very scared behind.

Let's start by dealing with current affairs: PSG won its first Champions League match of the season and, with his three points, he is perfectly relaunched in Group H. At the same time Thomas Tuchel offered himself a little respite, he who would probably not have spent the winter (in Paris) in the event of a result other than a success on Wednesday evening.

That's it, that's for pragmatic analysis.

For the rest - and we apologize in advance to the German coach, who requires that we have a coaching license before issuing any criticism on the game of his team - the general copy returned by PSG on Turkish soil looks more like a draft than anything else.

14 shots conceded against Manchester United.


16 shots conceded against Dijon.


17 shots conceded against Basaksehir.

- Julien Momont (@JulienMomont) October 28, 2020

A first half of sleeping standing

However, we would have been entitled to expect a reaction of pride from the Parisians after they were carried around a week earlier at home by the Red Devils.

We are still talking about the first defeat in the group stage of the Champions League since the arrival of QSI at the head of the club in 2011. Just for that (and to close mouths, including ours), it would have deserved to mark the occasion.

Instead, the Parisians offered a tasteless, if not mediocre service.

And the position of Marquinhos in the middle of the field so dear to Tuchel has not changed much.

After this match, we still wonder why the Parisian coach is so insistent on seeing him in this position, but that is not the subject (for the moment).

Faced with the undoubtedly the weakest team in Group H, PSG did not give the impression of wanting more than that.

Few combinations, no movement and almost the same spirit as the French at the time of the announcement of the reconfinement, it is little to say that this Paris is questioning.

As often, unfortunately, the only game project came down to "spin the ball to Neymar, Di Maria and Mbappé".

By the way, the French international once again gave the impression of wanting to do everything alone after Neymar's injury exit, which could become problematic in the long run for his teammates.

Navas felt a bit alone in the world on Wednesday evening in the face of repeated attacks from the Turks.

- FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Boulevard de la mort in the Parisian defense

If we had to choose, it seems that the most worrying in all of this is the almost appalling fragility of the Parisian defense.

As against Dijon, which penetrated the rearguard of PSG as one enters Puy du Fou on a day of general confinement, the Parisians had all the trouble in the world to stop the Turkish offensives.

In fact, without a huge Keylor Navas, the team would never have left Istanbul with the three points of victory.

Imagine, PSG conceded 17 shots against Basaksehir.

SEVENTEEN!

What will it be like when we have to show up at Old Trafford against a Manchester team who have just put five at home in Leipzig…

Asked at the microphone of RMC after the meeting, Layvin Kurzawa seemed to agree with our observation, explaining that "in the game, we will have to improve".

“Some things have been good, others not.

We play every three days, so we'll have time to work on that for the next matches, ”concluded the Parisian left side.

Rarer, Thomas Tuchel also admitted lip service that his team had not achieved a great match on Wednesday, even if this self-criticism was immediately accompanied by its bed of justifications.

"There are a lot of injuries, and now maybe it's the time to fight, to try to win games that may not be the best games in the history of PSG, and I can assure you that we know.

"

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