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Neymar should not see his creative influence diluted by pressure from the captaincy, according to Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel.
Neymar should be free to focus on his game rather than worry about leadership, Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel said on Saturday.
The French champions have an internal system in which they have five captains, with the skipper on the Marquinhos field supported by Presnel Kimpembe, Kylian Mbappé, Keylor Navas and Marco Verratti.
Although Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani left the club and that group at the end of last season, Neymar did not join him.
Given his seniority, the Brazilian may have been an obvious choice, but Tuchel wants Neymar to keep his full attention on scoring goals and creating for others.
“I often speak only to Neymar and I am always close to him. We talk a lot,” Tuchel said, before Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash with Lyon.
“It is important that he is free to speak his mind. We often talk about tactics and also personal matters. Right now he has so many things on his mind. He takes responsibility on the field. He is an artist. He is creative. For that reason , I don’t want him to think about organizational matters. If there are very important matters to discuss, he is one of our key players, of course. Not that it has to do with him because I want him to stay focused on the field so that he can play with all his freedom and creativity. “
With Tuchel declaring on Saturday that injured striker Mauro Icardi is unlikely to play again until the new year, the onus is increasingly falling on players like Neymar and Mbappé to keep the flow of goals going for PSG.
After a losing streak of form, PSG have chained three consecutive victories, beating Manchester United and Montpellier by 3-1 margins before beating Istanbul Basaksehir 5-1 on Wednesday.
That game was delayed a day after accusations of racism against a fourth official on Tuesday caused the game to be postponed.
A ripple effect was that the PSG players were denied the two-day break Tuchel had planned for them, and he knows that Lyon, who missed European competitions this season, have had a full week to prepare for. their big crash at the Parc des Princes.
Tuchel identified Memphis Depay as a major threat to PSG, speaking of their ability to roam and find space, and said Lyon is a team that shows “courage” and “almost has the same quality as us.”
He pointed to Lyon and Lille as the Ligue 1 teams that offer competition at a level comparable to the Champions League.
Lyon, however, have a miserable recent record against PSG in the capital, having not won any of their last 12 road trips, lost 10 of those games and tied the other two.
Their last league win at the Parc des Princes was in October 2007, a 3-2 win in which Hatem Ben Arfa scored twice for Lyon.
Tuchel believes that Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, linked to PSG among a host of clubs, has the quality to play for any team.
“We have respect for all clubs and players, so we don’t talk about other players, but it is clear that Houssem Aouar is a key player for Lyon and the national team,” Tuchel said of the France star.
“It is obvious that he could play for any team in the world. He is a fantastic player and he has been key for Lyon, so we have to prepare well to face him.”
One cause for concern for Tuchel is the fact that PSG, despite leading Ligue 1 until the weekend, have already lost three times. Lyon, meanwhile, are undefeated in their last 10 (six wins and four draws).
Tuchel said PSG’s losses were “not good news” and “purely our fault” and meant they have lost three times in their first 13 league games for the second consecutive season.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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