It is not every night that PSG, winner of Dijon in the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France (6-1), can turn around on a match and have the feeling that everything smiled at him. Since the start of the season, despite many successes, there were always these cascading injuries that came to cast a shadow on the table. This time, and until proven otherwise, Parisians have the legitimate feeling of having lived an almost perfect evening, despite eleven absent and only 3 holders on the lawn.
No breakage. Over the weeks, the PSG caravan has become accustomed to pointing out more or less serious injuries after each meeting. This February was no exception with the chondro-costal injury of Neymar which could deprive the Brazilian of the trip to Dortmund and the elongation to a thigh of Kimpembe, Sunday evening, during the victory against Lyon. As we said on Tuesday, the French defender is uncertain for the round of 16 first leg.
"Theoretically it is possible even if he does not play against Amiens on Saturday, but I hope it is not too serious," confirmed Tuchel. The fact remains that for once, the German coach did not have to draw up the list of injured in Burgundian territory. Unless last minute pain, he can count on the winners of Dijon for the last trip to Amiens, three days before Dortmund.
Playing time for ghosts. The other positive point of this Dijon evening is embodied in the return to business of Thiago Silva and Juan Bernat. The two usual defense holders played 61 minutes for the Brazilian and 29 minutes for the Spaniard who replaced him. This does not guarantee their presence at kick-off in Dortmund but it is the meaning that Tuchel wants to give to the next match on Saturday in Amiens.
“They (N DLR: Thiago Silva and Bernat ) played without pain. And if possible, they will replay against Amiens but not 90 minutes, said the technician. For Juan it is sure and Thiago also if it is possible. We will try to manage with Marquinhos and Thiago Silva. In summary, if all goes well, Bernat and Marquinhos will start against the Picards, and Thiago Silva will replace his compatriot. Finally Gueye and Verratti, exempted from traveling to Burgundy as a measure of "caution", should also be traveling to Amiens.
Six goals to maintain confidence. PSG is a team that scores a lot of goals (42 in 12 games in 2020), and this Burgundian evening did not make him depart from this good habit. This is the third time this year that Paris has passed six to its opponent, and the second time against a Ligue 1 team after Saint-Etienne in the League Cup (6-1) and Linas-Montlhéry (R1) in French Cup (6-0).
PSG Express
The essential newsletter for Parisian supportersI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
Even deprived of Neymar (injured), Icardi and Di Maria (on the bench), that says a lot of the offensive resources of this team especially when Pablo Sarabia rose to this level (2 goals, 1 assist). Again, this does not guarantee anything for Dortmund, but we prefer that to a sluggish team with no depth of bench. The only regret comes from this 200th goal logically denied to Edinson Cavani for a hand from Thomas Meunier. This historic achievement would surely have boosted the Matador a little more, borrowed Wednesday evening, and obviously lacking in rhythm. In any case not yet in that of a Champions League match.
