PSG considering sacking Tuchel after Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich
The French giants are thinking about "restructuring" after the 1-0 defeat to Bayern in the final of the Champions League on Sunday.
PSG recorded another painful chapter in their Champions League history in 2020. Having finally broken the psychological barrier in being able to reach the final, they were unable to cope with the might of Bayern Munich on Sunday evening, going down 1-0. It was a bittersweet end to their campaign, above all of because despite the defeat they did have chances to turn the scoreline around, and the campaign will serve as a base for the future for a club with almost no real history in Europe's premier club competition.
In the wake of the defeat, all attention in Paris is focused on Thomas Tuchel. The German coach - who does not enjoy the full confidence of the club's board - surprised many by bringing on Choupo-Moting in the second half, ahead of Icardi. The Parisian outfit spent 60 million euros on the Argentinean precisely to play a role in games like the Champions League final. Tuchel also didn't bring on Pablo Sarabia, PSG's top goalscorer this season, and a player seen as one able to make a vital difference in tough games such as finals against Bayern Munich.
These decisions and what's seen as a lack of an ability to react quickly in the decisive moments from the German coach have put his future at PSG in doubt, despite the overall performance of the team under his charge, and the club are now considering a change at the top. But time is of the essence with little room for manoeuvre for Al-Khelaifi. The Ligue 1 season gets underway on Saturday, with PSG making their debut against Lens (21:00 CEST) and such a radical change could be in detriment to the club.
Thiago Silva and Cavani leaving PSG
Thiago Silva and Cani were two of the players who ushered in the domination of PSG over Ligue 1 and both have left after Leonardo decided not to renew their contracts. Al-Khelaifi's policy, focused in the early years of the project on signing big names who bring massive talent to the squad in order to be able to compete in Europe, has finally paid off after three years of disappointments in not even reaching the quarter-finals.
PSG this season have managed to do the hardest thing this season: create an identity capable of realistically landing the European Cup. The task this season in reality was getting past the quarter-finals, the point they'd stumbled at before. Exceptional circumstances, true, given the Covid-19 pandemic, but against Atalanta PSG were able to turn things around and overcome the mental barrier that seemed insurmountable a year ago when they went out at the hands of Manchester United.
PSG now head unto the tenth year of the Al-Khelaifi era without having lifted the Champions League they have been chasing since his arrival in the French capital. 2020/2021 could be the last year for two corner-stones of the project, with Neymar and Mbappé both having only one year left on their contracts in June 2021. Despite everything that has happened up to now, in Paris winning the Champions League title is still seen as not just a possibility, but an obligation.