Tuchel: PSG can cope without Neymar

Posted Monday, February 04, 2019 by fourfourtwo.com

Neymar's absence was not the reason for Paris Saint-Germain's first loss of the Ligue 1 season, says Thomas Tuchel.

Thomas Tuchel retains faith that his Paris Saint-Germain squad can handle the absence of Neymar, despite slipping to their first defeat of the Ligue 1 campaign on Sunday.

Neymar will miss the next two months due to another metatarsal injury sustained in last month's Coupe de France victory over Strasbourg.

PSG had won their first game without the Brazil international – against Rennes – but they came up short against Lyon, losing 2-1 to Bruno Genesio's side.

Angel Di Maria had given PSG an early lead at the Groupama Stadium, but Moussa Dembele and Nabil Fekir turned the game back in Lyon's favour, ending PSG's unbeaten run at 20 league matches.

First defeat of the season for @PSG_English

Olympique Lyonnais - Paris Saint-Germain
Ángel Di María 7' #OLPSG

#AllezParis pic.twitter.com/46uUxbS9tz

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) February 3, 2019

While disappointed, PSG head coach Tuchel found some positives and is confident his squad can cope without Neymar, particularly as the Champions League nears a return.

"I do not know it we missed them but it's clear that we do not have a second Neymar or a second [Marco] Verratti, but I have full confidence in the other players," he said.

"There were a lot of chances on the line with Angel and [Julian] Draxler who made a very good match.

"We were too passive after our first goal, we lacked precision, we made bad decisions. Lyon played with a lot of quality, but I liked our second period."