By D. Crossan
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi used the aftermath of the win over Liverpool to offer coach Thomas Tuchel massive praise.
Girondins de Bordeaux – Paris Saint-Germain 
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Tuchel’s men take on Bordeaux on Sunday as they aim to make it 15 wins from 15 at the start of the league season. Al-Khelaïfi appointed the German as Unai Emery’s successor in the summer and after the 2-1 UEFA Champions League success over the Reds, the president said: “We’re a really solid team and we have a great coach. For me he is the best coach in the world and he proved it tonight. What he did is magnificent.”
Now PSG return to league matters as they attempt to extend their record-breaking start to the campaign. The four days in between matches will be welcome to Tuchel given how draining Wednesday evening’s encounter was at the Parc des Princes. Delighted as the former Dortmund boss was with the result that puts the club on course for Champions League qualification, Tuchel sounded several notes of caution.
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“I hope it means something has clicked into place,” he said. “But we mustn’t think that because we played one game like that, that it will be the same every time. We need to work hard every day in order to keep that team spirit, that attitude. We need to be humble and carry on like that. The players are dead tired but they’re proud and the spirit is good. It’s important for the players to have had that experience.”
Tuchel talks tactics
Tuchel showed his tactical flexibility by adapting his strategy to Wednesday night’s game and was amused to be asked what formation PSG had used by journalists post-match: “We defended in a 4-4-2 and we needed two number six’s to defend, Marquinhos and Marco Verratti. Our plan was to use just one number six when we had the ball as there’s not a lot of space in the zone and it wasn’t necessary to have two players. Marquinhos dropped between the centre-halves to make a line of three. That meant we could work the diagonals with Neymar and Di Maria and we had players available wide. It also meant we could be dangerous with runners in behind.”
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Mbappé shoulder concern
Neymar and Kylian Mbappé both played critical roles against Liverpool after recovering from injury and it will be interesting to see whether Tuchel manages his superstars’ game time this weekend. Mbappé spoke about the shoulder damaged for France against Uruguay: “I wanted to play against Liverpool at all costs. Now that game has been played I’m going to have to speak with the medical staff. We’ll have a look at the fixture list because there’s something there that cannot be denied. It will need treatment to stop it being aggravated.”
Bordeaux drew 0-0 with Dijon in Week 14 and had two goals disallowed on VAR evidence. Coach Eric Bédouet commented: “You score and you are euphoric, and then after a wait of several minutes, the goal is chalked off. It’s not easy for the players to deal with. I think we deserved more than the draw against a very good Dijon team. We need to have a greater killer instinct in front of goal. We’re hosting PSG in our next league game? Thanks, I know that, thank you for lifting my morale.”
Probable Teams:
Bordeaux: (to follow)
Paris Saint-Germain: (to follow)
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