PSG defeated in Leipzig, a mess that could be expensive

"For us, the key will be to have a good structure, a strong, tight collective, to help each other to win," said Thilo Kehrer, on the eve of this Leipzig-PSG.

And for good reason, Paris had to compose without several key players, starting with Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, but also Marco Verratti, Mauro Icardi or Juan Bernat.

Under these conditions, no choice: "We will try to make a little more effort as a team, more mentality as a team, hammered Thomas Tuchel.

It's up to us to show that we are capable of fighting together. ”

This is what we saw.

For a half time.

Except that a match lasts 90 minutes.

And in the end, it was RB Leipzig who got their hands on the three points (2-1).

A second defeat in three Champions League days for Paris?

We had never seen that under QSI!

"Three key situations, the three against us"

Everything had started perfectly, with a PSG who, without his stars, had donned the warming blue.

Intensity, aggressiveness, counter-pressing on all floors, fast forward transmissions… Enough to quickly lead 1-0 thanks to Angel Di Maria, perfectly served by Moise Kean, the latter having also represented THE good mark of the Parisian evening.

Thanks to the vista of Keylor Navas and Alessandro Florenzi, Paris kept its clean sheet and had the break point, a penalty for Di Maria.

Turning.

"

- Tuchel:" We will try to reverse this result in three weeks "

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- Tops / Flops Leipzig-PSG: Nkunku well inspired, Paris plunged

The Argentine was missing, the former Parisian Christopher Nkunku equalized before the break, penalty for Leipzig transformed by Emil Forsberg and second yellow for Idrissa Gueye.

“Three key situations, the three against us”, as Tuchel regretted in a press conference, referring to penalties and red.

“It was too much for a better result,” Tuchel still regrets.

Foul on the penalty of Leipzig, a mimine who dragged, Presnel Kimpembe, overall exceeded, cracked and took a second in stoppage time.

In the end, this match leaves a big feeling of waste in view of the abyssal gap between the first and the second period and of this missed penalty.

Not the same team.

At the slightest grain of sand, the mechanism crashes.

One defeat, two suspended: the bill is steep.

“It's hard to explain, admits Marquinhos, on

.

We had to keep the same mentality, the intensity of the first period.

When you take a goal, you must not have this kind of less good shot.

It's hard, you have to manage.

There are three games left.

We have to stay positive and increase our level of play. "

And if possible from November 24, against the same RB Leipzig. 

The specter of elimination

For the rest, we must admit that the context was not easy for Paris, with always this truncated preparation, cascading injuries and a very natural mental fatigue.

The Covid-19 too, with many players infected in recent weeks.

Difficult to assess the consequences.

It would have been all the more rewarding to come back from Germany with at least the point of the draw.

Mitigating circumstances which will not weigh heavily, however, if the Parisians were to finish off the nail for the round of 16 of C1.

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- Marquinhos to the rescue of Tuchel:" We trust our coach "

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- Beaten by Leipzig, Paris is in great danger

Especially since they are not only a victim of the context.

When we see Tuchel persist with Danilo Pareira behind and Marquinhos in the middle, we can ask ourselves questions ... "I'll let you judge.

I don't want to give people more motivation to talk about me, my positioning, the coach.

When you are on the ground, you have to fight and win, ”hammers“ Marqui ”modestly on

, while Danilo clearly recognizes, on

, that a defender,“ this is not (his) position ”.

One more argument for those, more and more numerous, who claim the head of the German technician… “We know how football is, adds the Brazilian.

He is the coach who had the best season in club history.

Football has no patience.

You have to focus on the real topics.

If things don't go well, it's not just the coach's fault… ”

One thing is certain: it is not the international truce that will allow Paris to recharge the batteries, with many players called to join their selection.

Three matches on the menu for the Europeans, long trips for the South Americans.

And then, the hellish pace will resume until the end of 2020. "We will kill the players", recently railed Tuchel, observing that the PSG has "a new injury per game".

"We will never doubt"

Thomas tuchel

In the meantime, all is not lost for Paris.

Manchester United's defeat at Istanbul Basaksehir (2-1) earlier on Wednesday night didn't hurt.

At the moment, Paris Saint-Germain still has its destiny in its hands for the round of 16 (Champions League rankings here).

"We play to win the direct confrontation," said Tuchel of the opposition against Leipzig.

If we win 1-0 or 2-0 at the Parc des Princes, we win the direct duel, and we would have our destiny in our hands.

We will never doubt. ”

It would have been easier to be confident by pulling at least one draw this Wednesday, and having a PSG who would have continued his effort over 90 minutes.

More than ever, it seems that Paris is doomed to go round at least until the end of the year, by trying not to mortgage the rest of the season.

Read also

• Tops / Flops Leipzig-PSG: Nkunku well inspired, Paris plunged