“By far, one of our worst matches”: Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel ranks highly of Manchester United’s lackluster defeat … but insists the “good news” is that “it can’t be worse” as the French champions face a battle. Tough UEFA Champions League group
- Report: Marcus Rashford is the champion again in Paris as United left her late
- Thomas Tuchel was left moaning in one of the “worst” Paris Saint-Germain matches of his time
- The French champions struggled to find the beat and deservedly lost
- In search of “good news,” Tuchel feels it can’t get any worse from now on
Thomas Tuchel criticized his players at Paris Saint-Germain and described their performance in the defeat to Manchester United as the “worst” in two years at the club.
Marcus Rashford scored a late goal in Paris to deliver an impressive Manchester United win over a seemingly reeling PSG side in the legacy of a loss in last season’s final in August.
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe did not live up to expectations tonight, and a losing start to Group H gives Tuchel team an uphill battle to advance in the Champions League.
Thomas Tuchel said that PSG’s performance was “the worst” of his era
The German coach (left) was scathing in his assessment of his team’s loss to Manchester United
It was the first defeat for Paris Saint-Germain in 25 group matches in the Champions League at the Parc des Princes, leaving Tochel looking for answers as to why his team had failed to reach the required level.
“In the first half, we were simply not on the field,” Tuchel told beIN SPORTS after losing 2-1. It was not our level.
I don’t know why, but I can say that we were not up to par, in moving the ball, in possession, in counterattack, in challenges, in intensity.
“By far, one of our worst matches, one of our worst first half.”
Marcus Rashford (right) was the difference as he scored late to win the United match
Tuchel agreed that the only way was to go up to Group E because “it can’t get any worse” in the future
Tuchel changed his set as a number of players were injured and it appeared as the match progressed and depth became a factor.
RB Leipzig’s victory over Istanbul Basaksehir pushed PSG down to third in Group H.
But with Basaksehir next to Tuchel, they can stop their worrying performance against United and return to winning ways with the president convinced that their performance “could not be worse” from here.
“The good news is that it couldn’t be worse,” he said.
Tuchel added after Neymar failed to score in four consecutive Champions League matches for the first time: “Well, we were 1-0 down. It’s easy to play better in the second half and we had to advance, it was clear.” Time since November 2013.
We tried to make some tactical changes because of Idrissa Gay’s injury, and tried to get another attack man in, which is a risk we ultimately paid for as well. It was like this today.
Kylian Mbappe (center) struggled to make his mark as he was organized by the United defense
“From start to finish we felt we were never at our highest level, and we weren’t really in the match as if it was absolutely necessary at this level.”
Bruno Fernandez gave United the lead with a penalty that was re-paid after Keylor Navas dropped his streak to save the first attempt, with the score 1-0 in the second half.
Paris Saint-Germain returned with the equalizer when Anthony Martial hit his own goal from Neymar’s corner.
United maintained their faith, however, and their dominance eventually secured three vital points, with Rashford hitting the bottom corner after he chose substitute Paul Pogba.
