Tuchel not happy with reaction in wild Classique finish as PSG boss calls for new signings

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel said he was not happy with his team's reaction after a brawl against Marseille as the Ligue 1 champions suffered back-to-back defeats.

PSG superstar Neymar was one of five players sent off in a fiery finish to Le Classique at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.

Marseille snapped a 20-match winless streak against rivals PSG, not before host trio Neymar, Leandro Paredes, Layvin Kurzawa, and Jordan Amavi and Dario Benedetto were red-carded in additional time.

After succumbing to Florian Thauvin's 31st-minute volley, Tuchel tried to downplay the defeat as Champions League runners-up PSG opened the 2020-21 season with consecutive losses.

"I'm not angry at all, the challenge is to separate the performance from the result," Tuchel told Telefoot.

"I didn't like our reaction in the last three minutes. I don't agree with that, it was too much. I'm going to suffer from this reaction."

Tuchel, whose PSG lost their first two games of a Ligue 1 season without scoring for the second time in the club's history after 1978-79, added: "I don't like the result. We had a great game, a great performance.

"I'm very happy with the efforts of my team. If we continue to play like that, we will win all the games. I'm very happy.

"It's not usual for us not to score. We have to go back to the context of this match. We have exceptional statistics. It was a great game. I'm not at all worried. I'm happy as a coach. We still lack players, we have a very small squad."

While Kylian Mbappe and Mauro Icardi were absent, PSG were able to hand a debut to new signing Alessandro Florenzi, who arrived from Roma on an initial loan.

Tuchel has made it clear he wants reinforcements following the departures of Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani as the German boss looks to build on PSG's memorable run to the Champions League final, while the French powerhouse remain in discussions regarding a new contract for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Asked about PSG's transfer plans, Tuchel said: "Are there going to be new players? I really hope.

"It's no secret, we lost five players including Choupo-Moting. It's going to be complicated, we play a lot of matches. I don't know if other teams that have played in the Champions League should play so much games."

Published 14 Sep 2020, 05:04 IST
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