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The end of Tuchel: You could often read that before the game about coach Thomas Tuchel and his situation at Paris Saint-Germain. The Champions League duel against RB Leipzig actually seemed like a final, one of those terrible ones, as you have had to see it many times in football history: a lot of nervousness, a lot of mistakes, and a team that defended with all their forces and to the front. he expected a brilliant moment from his individual teachers. A team that really wanted to win this game. Does not matter how. That team was PSG.
Game result: Paris is far out of shape since the Champions League tournament in August. Far away. That night was enough for RB Leipzig. The duel ended 1-0, decided by an extremely questionable penalty. The possible premature knockout for PSG in the group stage and the first during the rule of the Qatari financiers has been avoided for now. Tuchel is allowed to breathe a little. Read the match report here. You can find the group overview here.
Another, a worse PSG: It’s been almost 14 weeks since the Champions League final with PSG, and nothing remains of the strong combination: the defense around former captain Thiago Silva at the rear, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé at the front. The team has sick key players in all parts of the team. But the problems in Paris are particularly clear in the four behind, who had to change in all positions compared to the Bayern game three months ago (departures, injuries, suspensions). The result: a team and a coach in emergency mode.
One of the newcomers who can do little for a crisis: Mitchel Bakker, 20, a left back, joined Ajax Amsterdam’s second team on a free transfer a year ago. The free transfer, which isn’t bad at first, is only particularly noticeable in Paris, where transfer fees have already been paid in triple-digit amounts. And Bakker stood out that night, with small errors, but above all because a second Parisian always defended by his side for safety.
Everything backwards, everything together: It is not uncommon for PSG to even retreat to their own half with all ten outfield players. And if you took a little more pressure there, the balls just hit forward. In the final phase, long shots were cheered loudly from the bench. This all seemed like a fudge, but the way the entire team celebrated the release attempts also speaks of a certain team spirit. It was good. The fact that the Parisians had their way in the end is also devastating for RB.
The moment that decided the »final«: In the final, one small thing can make a difference, the contact, which could not be clearly seen even after several slow movements, before the penalty in the eleventh minute. As slightly as possible, Marcel Sabitzer apparently touched Argentine Ángel Di María on the leg and he immediately fell to the ground. A (very, very) generous whistle, a mediocre penalty from Neymar, an important goal. PSG perfectly played the lucky goal on the cards with their wall tactic. And the success was the culmination of a miserable performance.
Tuchel problems: Thinking from game to game, that’s a cheap football phrase. It applies to the Tuchel situation. The coach has been counted for months and the hypothermia relationship with the powerful sports director Leonardo is recounted over and over again. In the summer, both parties could not agree on a line in terms of access (they could have done better), and the German coach’s contract will expire next summer. The fact that Tuchel was the first PSG coach to reach the premier class final, that success, we know today, only calmed the tense situation for a short time.
Upcoming Finals: Soccer is a results sport and that’s why this lackluster win against RB Tuchel provides some calm. But there will be more finals waiting for the coach; for example, the team will have to play for Manchester United next Wednesday. Then it comes again.
