The evening could have gone off without a hitch. Paris SG, carried by a double from Neymar, managed his first card of the season against Angers (6-1), Friday, October 2, but, in fact, the crisis is smoldering behind the scenes, after the sports director’s development Leonardo targeting coach Thomas Tuchel on the transfer window.
Neymar’s double, Kylian Mbappé’s goal, Alessandro Florenzi’s magnificent recovery, the slew of dribbles? In a few sentences, Leonardo swept away the promises born of this great performance which seems to confirm, sportingly, the return of PSG to the fore after a complicated start to the season.
“Leo”, speaking after the meeting to journalists in the auditorium of the Parc des Princes, responded sharply to statements Thursday from Tuchel who spoke of a workforce reduced by the transfer window.
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Icy relationships
“We didn’t like it at all. If someone is not happy, if he decides to stay, he must respect either sports policy or internal rules ”, said the Brazilian leader.
This development crisps the atmosphere within the vice-champion of Europe three days before the end of the transfer market, Monday evening. “You have to understand the moment that we are all living, there are very serious situations. Not understanding this situation, we did not like. Now we will see internally ”, he added.
“It’s not a question of transfer window, but of form. To stay in this club, you have to be happy, with the desire to suffer for the club, the spirit of sacrifice, even if you are living through a complicated time., Leonardo continued.
The sports director, who returned to Paris in the summer of 2019, did not choose Tuchel, who arrived a year before him. If relations between the two men have never been idyllic, they are now becoming icy.
“I didn’t like to say that this team is weak either. We’re talking about a huge team. Everyone lost millions, it’s weird to talk about it. Nobody buys, except in England, which is a world apart ”, said again “Leo”, saying that the health crisis had caused a shortfall of nearly 100 million euros at the club.
“If we stay with this group today, honestly, we can’t ask for the same things”, said Thursday the German technician, who complained about the meager reinforcements.
Neymar Festival
And yet, if he does not know what he will win before the market closes, PSG already knows what he has not lost: his immense stock of talent, which places him among the best teams in Europe. “Their talent ends up speaking. When you close a door, they open another ”, remarked the Angevin trainer Stéphane Moulin.
The two superstars Kylian Mbappé and Neymar have, again, illuminated the match. A technical goal (36e) summarizes their activity: the first slipped between two defenders to serve the second who, with a strike under the bar, sealed the fate of the match before half-time.
What if keeping them was the best thing that happened to the club this summer? The two accomplices can guide the club in the final of the Champions League as finding the solution against the very tight 5-4-1 of Angers. With them, PSG came one point closer to leader Rennes before the international break, with a fourth success in a row.
Before returning to C1 on October 20 with a shock against Manchester United, “Kyky” and “Ney” continue to get back on their feet, after a start to the season marked by their positive tests for Covid-19 and two initial defeats.
Aligned as a left winger in a 4-4-2 at kickoff, Neymar, who had never started a Parisian season without having scored in one of his first two matches, has finally unlocked his counter. He even scored a brace (47e), his first in L1 since January 26.
Mbappé took longer to score (84e): his efforts in animation were rewarded at the very end, from a flat foot to the recovery of a cross from Pablo Sarabia.
The Draxler case
Meanwhile, Julian Draxler (57e) and Idrissa Gueye (71e) weighed down the scoreboard, proving that PSG had left behind the problems of offensive realism observed in Reims (2-0) last Sunday.
“It was better than in Reims, we attacked the opposing surface with more aggressiveness, better timing. Scoring is good, it gives a lot of confidence ”, Tuchel rejoiced.
Certainly, in defense, Paris conceded clear opportunities, which left some regrets to the Angevins. If they scored by Ismaël Traoré (52e), Stéphane Moulin’s men also had a huge opportunity to come back to 3-2, spoiled by Rayan Aït-Nouri (57e).
But less than a minute later, Julian Draxler concluded the 4-1 by taking a cross back from Mitchel Bakker. The German international is regularly cited among the most likely starters in the transfer window.
With this second goal – he had only scored three in his last two L1 seasons – at least he showed what he can bring this year. He doesn’t know yet if he will be a capital player on Tuesday. He too will live the next restless hours.
