Thomas Tuchel during PSG-Lorient, December 16, 2020. -

JEE / SIPA

Parisians are done.

No wonder, when we come to the end of a first part of the season tackled without preparation and which was fought at the pace.

Thomas Tuchel did not seek to deny the obvious this Saturday at a press conference.

His players are "mentally tired" and "need a little vacation" during the holidays, in order to approach the "decisive" phase of Ligue 1 in January, he observed.

“I am convinced that we will not lose the championship now.

January and February will be decisive, it is months after a vacation, without the Champions League (until mid-February), it will be easier to be fully focused on Ligue 1, ”said the German technician, who therefore minimized the importance of Sunday's shock against the Lille leader.

"The other teams are less afraid [of us]"

He also said he was relieved that Ligue 1 took a break at the end of December while the English Premier League, for its part, will have the traditional "Boxing Day" matches (December 26) and a tough series of meetings until the beginning of January .

"It's good like that, because we need a little vacation," said Tuchel, who announced that his group would not resume training until January 3, before a trip to Saint-Etienne on January 6 for the 18th day of L1.

PSG, on the go since this summer with the "Final 8" of the Champions League in Lisbon, where it reached the final, feels a certain psychological weariness which can benefit rivals like Lille.

"The others are less afraid, the others know that we are in a slightly tired state physically and mentally, that gives a possibility to fight with us", he developed.

Tuchel explains why Neymar is not part of the "council of the wise" via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/FIJSu7XlNl

- 20 Minutes Sport (@ 20minutesSport) December 12, 2020

“We have a lot of injuries, absentees, we can feel that we are mentally tired.

(…) Lille is a big challenge for us because Lille is very strong.

It's still a big challenge, but I think we're ready for it, he continued.

We arrive in front of the leader to perhaps take the first place.

We have the right to be confident in ourselves.

"

By the way, while PSG (2nd before this 16th day) is jostled in an unusual way this season in Ligue 1, Tuchel recalled that this was also the case in other major European championships where none of the traditional top names has yet took off.

“I expect a tighter ranking than last year, but it's not a sprint, an L1 season, it's a marathon,” he concluded.

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