For Paris Saint-Germain supporters, the loss to Dortmund on February 18 felt like waiting all year for Christmas only to receive coal in your stocking.
With Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappé, and the rest of PSG’s stars in the starting lineup, fans expected a more high-octane performance but manager Thomas Tuchel set up his team to have the opposite effect.
As the video below from YouTube channel Piotr Foot explains, Tuchel went with a 3-4-3 formation to cover for players who just came back into the squad after recovering from injury and to protect against Dortmund’s high-flying attack featuring Erling Haaland.
While Dortmund hit PSG on the counter-attacks with pace, Les Parisiens preferred a steady build-up and plenty of possession. Their only real attacking threat was Neymar.
The errors made by PSG were glaring but perhaps Tuchel’s decisions helped minimize the damage as his squad escaped with a 2-1 defeat. That’s not an insurmountable scoreline to overturn especially with the return leg at the Parc des Princes.
With Marco Verratti and Thomas Meunier suspended for the rematch against Dortmund, and Thiago Silva and Ander Herrera injured, Tuchel will have to dig deep into his bag of tricks and pull out a tactical masterclass.
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