Thomas Tuchel lashes out at PSG board after 5-1 loss to Lille
Thomas Tuchel has taken aim at the Paris Saint-Germain board after criticising the lack of depth in his squad.
The German coach was speaking out after his side capitulated 5-1 to Lille on Sunday evening, failing to lift the Ligue 1 trophy as a result.
Why is Tuchel frustrated? Five key things to know…
- Had PSG won against Lille then the club would have clinched an eighth top-flight title.
- Instead Lille ran riot at the Stade Pierre Mauroy and the Parisians will now have to wait until Wednesday before they can lift the trophy.
- PSG played the match with a number of notable absentees, including Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria.
- Tuchel only had six substitutes on his bench for the 5-1 defeat.
- He has now vented his frustration towards the club’s hierarchy for lacking depth in his squad.
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Juan Bernat saw red in the 36th minute after scoring PSG’s only goal of the game – an 11th minute effort which cancelled out Thomas Meunier’s own goal.
Christophe Galtier’s men promptly sprang to life in the second half, profiting from their numerical advantage with goals from Nicolas Pepe, Jonathan Bamba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jose Fonte.
The match proved a sobering experience for Tuchel, but the 45-year-old was made to travel without a number of his star players, and after the match he made it known, intimating he is not satisfied with the depth of his squad.
He told reporters: “It’s too much, we miss so many players, it’s not possible like that.
“Even [Moussa] Diaby and [Thilo] Kehrer could not play I do not know who can play in Nantes!
“We will be 13 or 14 players short. We miss too many players, nobody talks about it.”
PSG first had the chance to seal the title against Strasbourg, but drew 2-2 and have failed once again. They now need three points at Nantes on Wednesday to guarantee the Ligue 1 title.
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Tuchel disagrees with Mbappe
Following the 5-1 humbling, Kylian Mbappe suggested the defeat was due to a lack of personality rather than squad depth, adding that the club’s mental fragility has been an ongoing theme across the campaign.
But Tuchel took umbrage to the comments after the match and has since played down suggestions of any psychological shortcomings from his squad, instead commenting that he was forced to utilise “sick players who should not have played.”
“No, it’s too easy to say like Mbappe that we lacked personality, we were in control,” Tuchel told reporters. “We made a good start to the match, with four goals, two for us and two offside.
“They didn’t have any chance in the first half, and there was Kehrer’s opportunity in the beginning of second half.
“With 10 players it became complicated, we played with sick players who should not have played. It’s not possible to have only 16 players.
“This defeat shows something else, that we have shortcomings every time? On the contrary, this game shows our mentality, contrary to what everyone thinks. To win here, we would have needed more quality.”
