It has never seemed so easy for Paris Saint-Germain to win the Champions League - three wins in the final tournament in Portugal are enough. The decisive factor, however, should be whether Coach Tuchel's best goalscorer is fit. Opponent Bergamo have more than just football in mind.
Lisbon (AP) - Paris Saint-Germain hopes for Neymar's class and a miracle cure from Kylian Mbappé, Atalanta Bergamo relies on the outsider's unconcern.
At the start of the final tournament of the Champions League in Lisbon, football Europe can look forward to an unexpected spectacle. "It's a gift for me," said PSG coach Thomas Tuchel before the knockout duel in the quarter-finals on Wednesday (9 p.m. / DAZN) at the Estadio da Luz.
While the French compete as co-favorites at the one-time Corona tournament on the Atlantic, Atalanta has nothing to lose. "It's a great honor for a small town like Bergamo," said coach Gian Piero Gasperini of the sports newspaper "L'Équipe". The city, severely affected by the corona pandemic, is looking forward to the game in distant Portugal. "We want to give people a laugh after all this grief," the coach announced.
For the Parisians, victory is all that counts - and it has never seemed so easy to climb the European football throne. Because only one game is decided in the playoffs in Lisbon, you are champion with three wins. With a success against the surprise team, Tuchel's million troops can celebrate only the second semi-finals in the European premier class after 25 years of waiting.
In addition to anticipation, the series champion is particularly concerned about world champion Mbappé, who injured his ankle in the cup final on July 24th. This week, however, the offensive star started training, at least as a joker - in contrast to the also injured Italian Marco Verratti - he could be there. "His presence on the substitution bench seems certain," wrote "Le Parisien". Mbappé was the most successful goalscorer of the canceled championship in France and, alongside Neymar, could provide that certain something that is probably necessary in such a game.
The omens are unique, and not only because of the tournament format without spectators: apart from the two finals recently in the French Cup and League Cup, PSG have not played a competitive game for a good five months. With a relaxed atmosphere and jokes during training, the Parisians are trying to warm up for the race for the fifth title this season. "We have to remain self-confident," said Tuchel, who will be standing on the field with a protective splint and crutches because of a broken metatarsus.
Atalanta, on the other hand, last ended Serie A with a series of exhausting English weeks, but knew how to convince and shot their way to a Champions League rank again with 98 goals. Only Manchester City (102) and FC Bayern (100) scored more goals in the major leagues. "We've met a little bit this season," joked Coach Gasperini. But he has to do without top striker Josip Ilicic, who scored all four goals in the 4-3 victory in the second leg of the second leg shortly before the Corona lockdown.
The Slovenian is an example of how football was unimportant for a long time - and how special a win could be now. Ilicic is missing for personal reasons: The pandemic with all the dead and terrible pictures from Bergamo had thrown him off track. "I'll call him before or after the game," said club president Antonio Percassi of the "Gazzetta dello Sport". And maybe then the two of them can chat about a football fairy tale after all the everyday horror.
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