"It's us against the rest of the world." This is the mentality of the Parisian group, as Ander Herrera explained in recent days in the Spanish press. The former Mancunien took the opportunity to vilify the " hatersor the press ”which“ create problems ”. "All of France is waiting for PSG to lose and hopes that they make a mistake to attack them," added the Spanish international. A state of mind that largely reflected on Friday evening, in the auditorium of the Stade de France, after the Parisian success in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue against OL (0-0 ap, 6-5 tab). Press conference which will have been much more animated than the meeting itself ... We first saw Ander Herrera make a point of honor to deviate from the questions to pass his message: "The most important, before the League champions is to win national trophies. We've won four this season. ” All while singing the praises of OL and French football overall, to give even more credit to the performance of PSG and respond in advance to any grumpy people who would underestimate the scope of Parisian success.
If you go looking for trouble you'll find it
It was then up to Thomas Tuchel to answer questions from the media. Questions which have, among other things, revolved around the prospect of the C1 and the not really reassuring quality of play of “his” PSG on the occasion of the two finals, Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue. Yet cheerful on his arrival at the stand, the German coach was carried away when a colleague submitted to him the fact that Paris only scored a goal between 210 minutes in the matches against ASSE and OL … “And what?” He repeated several times. “We're just lucky. No quality, only luck. Difficulties in the game? It's football! It's only football. Show me a team that scores four or five goals in every game! It is not possible ! You are always looking for the negative. There are 99 positive points, but we are looking for the 100th, we must find problems ... There is no problem. We won." And rather twice than once, indeed.
In the end, we can only rejoice at this feeling of media-public persecution. It is obviously the glue that unites this locker room, this group, this club. A motivation like any other. But if it works… It should however be emphasized that no one has questioned the Parisian prowess. And especially in cups, on a dry match. "It's not easy, we saw it last season," confirms Herrera, remembering that Paris did not win either of the two national cups last season. Nine times Italian champions in the past nine years, Juventus, for example, lost the Italian Cup final this season.
Paris and Lyon, same fight
But this does not prevent from remembering that Paris Saint-Germain has the means, and therefore the players, far above the pack on the French scene. We also know that it is not only the media and the public that are obsessed with the European Cup, it is the whole club, with the players in mind. Not to mention Doha… So highlighting the results of Thomas Tuchel's team does not prevent us from asking questions about the quality of the game when necessary. As can be the case today. The 3,500 spectators who were at the Stade de France, and the few million others in front of their posts, can attest to the poverty of the Parisian game. The poverty of the game itself, the two teams having competed in this area. “It was a closed match,” Rudi Garcia modestly admits. "It's very easy to explain: it's OL in front (laughs)," said Herrera. And Tuchel added: "I am very proud of my team, they are reliable guys, who benefit from working and suffering together." Suffer, yes, but not too much!
Two mitigating circumstances for the two clubs after this dull final. First, the heat. Overwhelming throughout the meeting. And then the shutdown of Ligue 1, this four-month interruption due to coronavirus and ... because of certain decisions of the authorities, or even above. Difficult to restart the machine under these conditions ... Was it appropriate to play these two finals after the stoppage of Ligue 1? “Frankly, I prefer not to answer that question,” Garcia eludes. There are people who are supposed to think and answer this question. ” And the Lyon coach added, at the turn of an answer to another question: "After four months of hiatus, playing 120 minutes, it's not easy ... We will say it like that."
And now the Champions League
Lyonnais and Parisians will, however, have to put on the warmers very quickly, and before the rest of the Ligue 1 clubs. OL will face Juve next Friday, while PSG have an appointment with Atalanta on August 12. If he promises that this final against Paris represents "a good basis for work", Rudi Garcia also recognizes that Lyon will have to show "a little better offensively to score in Turin". Thomas Tuchel, he knows well that "Atalanta has a great advantage because they have the rhythm" of the competition. Understood, OL did not do enough offensively and PSG (logically) lack pace. Also annoyed by the questions about the players who did not shine on Friday, Idrissa Gueye or Mauro Icardi for example, the German coach also acknowledged their difficulties. "No big things," he said, however. Understand: "Nothing serious". But not nothing at all. In the end, everything was not so perfect and we may have the right to wonder about the quality of play of the two teams, and in particular that of PSG. But once again, if the Reds and Blues find the key to getting to the end in Lisbon, who will complain?
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