It was a breakout night for Leandro Paredes as he scored a goal and set up another while wearing the captain’s armband to see Paris Saint-Germain cruise by Pau FC in the Round of 16 of the Coupe de France.
The Argentine was chosen as the captain, according to manager Thomas Tuchel in his post-match comments, to give him some confidence and show him that the club trusts him. Paredes repaid his manager by playing an outstanding match and even the PSG supporters are taking note of his improved play recently.
Is Leandro Paredes good? #PSG
— PSG Talk 💬 (@PSGTalk) January 29, 2020
Tuchel made 10 changes to his starting lineup from the team that won against Lille OSC three days prior. That was expected as Pau is a Championnat National side and the pitch was shockingly poor. It was also PSG’s fifth consecutive road match.
Neymar Jr. was left out of the match completely and Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappé were left on the bench. Marco Verratti and Mauro Icardi did play in the match much to my chagrin but the Argentine did play a role in both goals and he escaped without injury so I guess I can’t complain too loudly.
Why are you playing Verratti on this pitch? WHY? https://t.co/eHLZHsJ9sl
— PSG Talk 💬 (@PSGTalk) January 29, 2020
While PSG advanced to the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France and the team put together a professional performance against an inferior opponent, there was some bad news to come out of the match.
Colin Dagba went down in the second half while making a tackle and appeared to twist his knee. On Thursday, we learned that he has a strained ligament in his left knee and will be out four to five weeks.
Up next for Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de France is a date with Dijon FCO in the quarter-finals. Tuchel will lead his team to the Stade Gaston Gérard either on Tuesday, February 11, or, Wednesday, February 12.
If you remember, Dijon defeated PSG back on November 1, so I expect them to give Les Parisiens all they can handle. It will be interesting to see who Tuchel starts in that match with a trip to Germany to play Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League a week later.
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