Paris Saint-Germain recently came away with a much-needed 1-0 UEFA Champions League group stage win against RB Leipzig. The win was far from effortless for the Ligue 1 side, especially as it did not have its way of dominating possession or creating multiple high-percentage goal-scoring chances over the contest.
The match was reportedly frustrating for several PSG players. RMC Sport documented some of the reported private concerns that PSG players had with manager Thomas Tuchel’s game plan against Leipzig.
For one, the report mentions that PSG players were surprised to see Tuchel sub off Angel Di Maria for Rafinha in the second half. The report adds that all the players were “surprised” to see this substitution, as it then switched the team’s setup to a 3-5-2 formation. Under this new setup, PSG players were “lost” following this switch.
Di Maria was reported to have been confused by the substitution, as there was no “justification” as to why Tuchel made this change. The Argentine is also reportedly frustrated that when the team is in danger during a fixture, Tuchel elects to sub him off before the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. This essentially would paint Di Maria as being the scapegoat for PSG’s struggles during fixtures.
PSG will simply have to move on from this chaotic fixture, as the team still has a couple of must-win Champions League group stage contests left this season.
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