An athletic gamble. Neymar, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe and Juan Bernat will start against Dortmund with an uncertain athletic condition. Brazilian crack will not have played for sixteen days when it will start the knockout round of the Champions League. Kimpembe has not appeared since February 9. The Spanish side enjoyed the same playing time over the last two games, 29 minutes in Dijon and then in Amiens. Marquinhos shows up in the Ruhr area with only one half-time in the legs, the second in Picardy. Thiago Silva, arrested 17 days for a painful pubis, counts 106 minutes before this shock.
“They will suffer from a lack of rhythm. Intensity is the last thing to come back, "analyzes Doctor Fabrice Bryand, former doctor of the France team. Thiago Silva demonstrated this at his expense in the Somme. Involved on the first three goals, he was absolutely not able to respond to the physical challenge imposed by the attackers of the 19th in Ligue 1.
If they are completely cured, there is no risk of relapse. The technical and medical staffs of PSG have pushed the limits of caution to relaunch them with the certainty that their ills were behind them. This logic was pushed to its extreme with Neymar, preserved since February 1 and his rib injury against Montpellier which occurred before the break. However, he will finish the game. "Friendly match, meeting in Ligue 1, Champions League, whatever, you have to start again one day," continues Bryand. When we're ready, we're ready. Obviously, the ideal is to resume on another match than the European Cup but the stakes make them come back at that time. "
"These are exceptional beings in this area"
Several factors invite optimism or relative confidence. Eric Bédouet, physical trainer of Bordeaux and ex of the Blues under Laurent Blanc, exposes one: “The competition, they have it because they live inside. They know exactly what type of match they will be facing. Sometimes the training is as intensive as the match. For me, they will have no worries. "
The doctor abounds: “They are not arrested for six months, following a rupture of the cruciate ligament of the knee for example. They come back faster than you and I because they are well trained. They are not unconditioned. They are super physiological. They are exceptional beings in this area. "
High-level machines, Neymar and Co have an advantage in their sleeves to smooth out their lack of rhythm: the mind. “They are so much above that they will compensate, analyzes Bédouet. They are players apart, with a different psychology from the others at the start. I'm not worried. "Envy plays, it's a parameter," concludes Bryand. It allows to endure fatigue, to exceed its limits. But physiology always catches up with us. "
PSG Express
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This is why they will end up sticking their tongues, Juan Bernat in particular. It will then be time to consider replacing them. By establishing them, Tuchel therefore deprives himself of one or two tactical coachings depending on the scenario.
