Solskjaer defends penalty policy after Pogba miss proves costly

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not believe Manchester United’s spot-kick situation needs addressing despite Paul Pogba’s penalty miss costing his side victory at Wolves.

Fresh from opening their Premier League campaign with an impressive triumph against Chelsea, United hit the road looking to avoid a third Molineux loss in five months.

Solskjaer’s side were vastly improved from those 2-1 losses in the FA Cup and Premier League earlier in the year, but it could have been even better than Monday’s hard-fought 1-1 draw.

Anthony Martial put Manchester United in front
Anthony Martial put Manchester United in front (Nick Potts/PA)

Ruben Neves’ stunner cancelled out a fine Anthony Martial opener and eyebrows were raised when Pogba stepped up to take the spot-kick he won, rather than last week’s penalty scorer Marcus Rashford.

Rui Patricio saved the France midfielder’s thumping effort – his fourth failed penalty since the start of last season – and United great Gary Neville questioned why there had been an on-pitch discussion about the taker.

“This is a Manchester United penalty, this is not tombola,” the former defender said on Sky Sports of that conversation, but Solskjaer downplayed the issues after confirming both Pogba and Rashford are the designated penalty takers.

Asked whether he needed to address penalties, Solskjaer said: “Not at all.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not feel the issue of penalty takers needs addressing
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not feel the issue of penalty takers needs addressing (Nick Potts/PA)

“The two of them are confident and good penalty takers and I’ve been in that situation myself, gone up and missed a penalty for Norway.

“When there’s two names there, it’s the one who’s the most confident and Paul has scored so many before, so absolutely no problem.

“It doesn’t have to be (one taker), no.

“Because sometimes in a game you do grow in confidence. Sometimes ‘I don’t want to take it today because I had a bad day’.

“Absolutely no problem with players walking up and saying, ‘this is mine’.”

Pogba pulled his shirt over his head at the full-time whistle, knowing this was a great opportunity to win at upwardly mobile Wolves.

“First half today was very much ours I felt,” Solskjaer said of the United performance.

“Then the first 10-15 (minutes) of the second half was poor and then we got back into the game again, so I am very pleased.

Paul Pogba showed his disappointment at full-timePaul Pogba showed his disappointment at full-time (Nick Potts/PA)

“They’ve learnt today. They gave a couple of sloppy transitions away, counter-attacks, because we passed it – we were too eager to play the pass through.

“Sometimes one extra pass before we play the killer pass… but we’re improving all the time and we will improve a lot because the boys want to learn, want to improve, which is evident from the first game to now. We’ve only improved.”

Wolves counterpart Nuno Espirito Santo was pleased to see his side emerge from this hard-fought encounter with a point, especially given they are juggling the opening Premier League fixtures with Europa League exertions.

Neves was among nine changes from the win against Pyunik last week and scored an exquisite leveller to send Molineux wild.

Ruben Neves beat David De Gea with a fine finishRuben Neves beat David De Gea with a fine finish (Nick Potts/PA)

But elation temporarily turned to frustration as referee Jon Moss pointed to his ear as the video assistant referee checked the goal, with chants of “f*** VAR” echoing around the ground before the equaliser was given the green light.

“It was a very, very good goal,” Nuno said. “Ruben kicked the ball well, put it out of the reach of the goalkeeper. Just there, spot on. Very good kick.”

Quizzed about the amount of time it took to award it, the Wolves boss said: “That’s what is worrying me.

“What I am afraid of is will we will be afraid to celebrate a goal? This is energy at Molineux, the sound, this atmosphere – we cannot lose, we cannot lose.

“They have to find a solution for it. Please do it.”

Disallowing Gabriel Jesus goal was ‘VAR at its best’, Jamie Carragher says

Jamie Carragher believes the decision by the video assistant referee to disallow Gabriel Jesus’ late winner for Manchester City against Tottenham was “VAR at its best”.

Jesus’ goal against Tottenham was disallowed after a VAR review spotted that the ball had deflected to him off the hand of City defender Aymeric Laporte.

Under changes to the laws of the game which took effect from June 1, any use of the hand which leads to a goal or a goalscoring opportunity will be penalised, whether intentional or otherwise.

Gabriel Jesus was furious as his goal was overturned
Gabriel Jesus was furious as his goal was overturned (Martin Rickett/PA)

There was some criticism of the decision, but former Liverpool defender Carragher believes the technology did its job.

“I think VAR has taken some unjust criticism,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “I think in some cases it has been absolutely fantastic and a massive success and that was evident in what happened in the last minute at Man City.

“VAR was brilliant on this. If people have got a problem, it is with the law. I personally think handball should be disallowed if the person scores with the hand, not sets one up. But it is there in law. So that is VAR at its best.

“It spots something that no-one else has spotted, that’s what it’s there for. Also a lot of the players coming out and saying ‘what is this rule? What if it hits the defender, does it count?’

“The players don’t know what’s going on and that’s because, you know when the referees come in to a meeting as they do every year, they (the players) are on the phones, they are not listening, they haven’t got a clue what the rules are. I was probably the same (as a player).

“We went to that meeting at Stockley Park, we were told about the handball rule. You may not agree with it but it is there as a rule and that for me is VAR at its best.”

Carragher and Neville defended VAR
Jamie Carragher (left) and Gary Neville defended VAR (Nick Potts/PA)

VAR was introduced into the Premier League for the first time this season having been used in the domestic cup competitions and at international tournaments.

Some pundits have already suggested that VAR should be scrapped, but former Manchester United defender Gary Neville feels its use should be widened even further.

“I think the factual stuff is a no-brainer, the stuff like the handball on Saturday, the offside stuff. It’s perfection and it has to be better for the game,” Neville said. “Accuracy is important on big goals and moments.

“For me, and it’s the fear I had when I went to Stockley Park a few weeks ago, is these subjective calls where they say they won’t overturn the referees’ decision on the pitch unless it’s clear and obvious.

“I think they will alter the test. It’s too high, they have backed themselves into a corner.

Neville wants the VAR based at Stockley Park to overturn subjective calls
Neville wants the VAR based at Stockley Park to overturn subjective calls (Chris Radburn/PA)

“The Rodri one (a potential foul by Erik Lamela on the midfielder at the Etihad). That is a penalty. Michael Oliver (referee) is not watching the incident, it’s impossible for a referee to see every incident at a corner.

“This is why VAR was brought in. That is an absolute stonewall penalty. He has got his arms around his neck. They have set such a high bar on what they said were subjective calls that they are basically nervous of overturning the referee on the pitch.

“I think if Michael Oliver saw that again he would want you to overturn it. They have to have the nerve and the courage to make the big call in the truck.

“I’m sure it will change. I think we will start to see more subjective calls overturned.”

Thiago Silva insists PSG have to improve after loss at Rennes

Captain Thiago Silva insisted it was “not the real Paris St Germain” after his side suffered an early first defeat of the new Ligue 1 campaign as Rennes came from behind to win 2-1 at Roazhon Park.

PSG had taken the lead in the 36th minute when Edinson Cavani knocked in a stray pass across the penalty area from Rennes captain Damien Da Silva.

However, the hosts rallied and drew level just before half-time through a fine shot on the turn by M’Baye Niang.

Rennes made a fast start to the second half as Romain Del Castillo headed in after 48 minutes and they could have added another when Jeremy Morel’s volley came back off the post.

PSG – again with Neymar left out of the squad as speculation continues over his future – offered few clear-cut chances in the second half.

Rennes, though, continued their 100 per cent start to the new campaign and sit third on six points alongside Lyon and Nice.

Brazilian defender Silva maintained the PSG squad will regroup.

“It was a difficult match, it’s hard to talk, we started well and then we lost our concentration a little bit, which is a shame,” he said on French broadcaster Canal+.

“At the beginning of the second half, it’s a goal we do not normally concede, but we were not attentive.

“Sometimes it is like that, but this was not the real Paris St Germain that we know.

“We have to look forward, think about the next game, try to be better and forget everything that happened here.

“It’s the beginning of the championship, they were stronger. Now, we have to try to improve and prepare well.”

Neymar was again conspicuous by his absence from the PSG squad, with both former club Barcelona and Spanish rivals Real Madrid reportedly looking to push through a deal ahead of the transfer deadline.

PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel, though, maintains the uncertainty surrounding the Brazilian cannot be used as an excuse for Sunday’s defeat.

“Neymar situation weighed on the team? No, I do not think so,” he said to Canal +.

“It is still the same, but the transfer window is still open for more than 10 days.

“Do you think this thing will be settled tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? I do not think so.

“But no matter what I think things are not settled for the moment, and it is not possible for him to play because he has not done any training like the others, the risk of injury is too great.”

Tuchel accepted his team had come up short of the required performance levels.

“We had problems in the challenges, both offensively and defensively,” he said.

“We forgot how to close out the match after taking the first goal and then make a gift to Rennes before half-time.

“It is not an easy situation, many of our players are not 100 per cent (fit), we need time.”

Rennes coach Julien Stephan felt his side were worth their victory, but can still improve the squad.

“We have a team that has shown interesting values, but to be able to last over time this season we will need some more people,” he said. “I know our recruiting team is working to improve all that.”

Diogo Jota: Maguire has a lot of quality but I know and trust Wolves defence

Wolves forward Diogo Jota insists he would not swap captain Conor Coady for £80million Harry Maguire.

The Portuguese has backed his team-mate’s quality ahead of Manchester United’s visit to Molineux on Monday.

Maguire helped United keep their first clean sheet since February in their opening 4-0 win over Chelsea after becoming the world’s most expensive defender when he moved from Leicester earlier this month.

Fellow centre-back Coady, meanwhile, has been a focal point in Wolves’ rise from the Sky Bet Championship to the Europa League and, despite Maguire’s record-breaking transfer, Jota is siding with his skipper.

Asked if he would swap Maguire for Coady or any of the other Wolves defenders, Jota said: “That is some question! I think Harry Maguire has a lot of quality but I know the players that we have in our team and I trust them.”

England international Maguire was one of three summer recruits by United, along with Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men look to improve on a largely disappointing 2018/19 campaign.

Jota added: “It (the £80m fee) is hard to explain. The market is unreal now in my opinion. But nothing to do with me, it is to do with the clubs and it is the moment we are living. We just have to respect that amount.

“It’s a new season. Solskjaer has had more time to work with his players, he’s made his own changes.

“In the transfer market they’ve tried to improve their team so we know it’s going to be very hard for us. We have to understand that we will face a very big team.”

Jota scored in Wolves’ two home wins over United last season when they dumped them out of the FA Cup just weeks before a 2-1 league victory.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side finished seventh, nine points behind sixth-placed United, last term as they qualified for Europe for the first time since 1980.

But despite being tipped to try to crack the top six Jota remained cautious about making predictions.

“I think it is too soon about the final classification. We got seventh place it’s true but it is very hard to get it again,” said the 22-year-old.

“We have loads of teams that spend more money than us, trying to achieve that position.

“So we have to realise it’s not going to be easy to get seventh. We go game by game and in the end we will see.”

Bayern Munich transfer news: Cuisance set to join from Borussia Monchengladbach

The France U20 international will help reinforce the centre of the Bundesliga champions’ midfield

Bayern Munich have confirmed the imminent signing of midfielder Mickael Cuisance from Borussia Monchengladbach.

The 20-year-old has developed into one of the Bundesliga’s top young midfielders since he joined Monchengladbach from Nancy in his native France in 2017.

Cuisance has made 35 Bundesliga appearances over two seasons, tallying three assists.

“Mickael has his strengths in possession football. He has great technique, a strong left foot and a great mentality,” Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said of the midfielder.

Cuisance has represented France at every youth level and started all four games for his country this summer at the U20 World Cup, where they fell 3-2 to the United States in the round of 16.

The midfielder will become the fifth French player on Bayern’s roster, joining Kingsley Coman, Corentin Tolisso, Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard.

Like Cuisance, Hernandez and Pavard only joined the club this summer, with Ivan Perisic and Fiete Arp the club’s other summer reinforcements thus far.

Cuisance will help the club strengthen in the middle of the pitch, joining Javi Martinez and Thiago Alcantara as players able to play as a holding midfielder.

Bayern failed to get their Bundesliga campaign off to a winning start on Friday, as they surprisingly drew Hertha 2-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Robert Lewandowski’s brace was not enough to secure all three points for Niko Kovac’s side, who nevertheless had a productive day off the pitch.

In addition to Cuisance’s arrival, Bayern also confirmed the imminent signing of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona on a one-year loan with a purchase option.

Bayern will look to earn their first Bundesliga win of the season next weekend when they travel to face Schalke.

Niko Kovac’s side are looking to win their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title this season, with Borussia Dortmund the last club other than Bayern to lift the trophy when they accomplished the feat in 2011-12.

‘Too good for MLS’ – Zlatan Ibrahimovic warns LA Galaxy fans not to get used to Cristian Pavon

The Argentine has already made an impact for LA Galaxy, and the club’s biggest star says he won’t be hanging around the league

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has warned LA Galaxy fans not to get used to seeing Cristian Pavon, who he claims is “too good” to stay in Major League Soccer for very long.

Pavon joined the Galaxy this summer on a loan deal and has hit the ground running, helping the Galaxy end a poor run of form with a star showing in a 2-0 win over FC Dallas on Saturday night.

His performance was impressive, earning a penalty that Ibrahimovic converted, and with the Galaxy sitting third in the Western Conference the LA outfit could well be on the verge of hitting its stride as the playoffs approach.

Following the win Ibrahimovic called Pavon “the best on the field” and offered his assessment of the 23-year-old’s future prospects, which he doesn’t think will include a long stint Stateside.

“He is very good,” Ibrahimovic said to ESPN. “He is too good for MLS.”

Pavon has drawn interest from the likes of Arsenal in the past, and his Swedish teammate sees him moving on quickly.

“I think MLS will not have him for a long time,” he added. “We should enjoy him while he is here.”

While the Galaxy may not be able to hold onto the Argentina international for long, the Ibrahimovic isn’t worried about trying to build chemistry, claiming that Pavon is good enough that the two can connect on the field without much time to learn each other’s styles.

“When you have a player like that, you don’t need to say much,” he said.

“You just communicate in the game and try to make the best of it.

“He knows what he is doing. This is his second game and he was the best on the field and today he made a difference.

“I have played with many players and I see when a player is the difference, and he is the difference.”

The Galaxy will look to add another win to their record on Saturday when they face off against the Seattle Sounders, who sit just one point back of them in the Western Conference table.

The club is also in the running for another trophy, with the Galaxy set to face Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup semi-final next Tuesday.

Gary Neville: Manchester United will win the Premier League before Liverpool

The former Red Devil has backed the club to bounce back strongly and claim a crown before their rivals

Gary Neville believes Manchester United will lift the Premier League title again before rivals Liverpool do.

Despite the Red Devils finishing sixth last season and the Reds only missing out on first by a single point to Manchester City, the one-time Valencia coach believes his former club are closer to winning the league than many think.

Though admitting United have struggled in recent years, Neville is adamant Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are close to turning the tide and could beat Liverpool to silverware in the process.

“I don’t sit here every day as a United fan and think my world’s ending. I just see it as a cycle,” Neville said on Sky Bet’s The Big Debate .

“I grew up for the first 18 years of my life and I didn’t see a league title at Manchester United. And the next 20 or 25 years was glorious. It was like heaven.

“But now it’s tough. It genuinely does not concern me because it can be corrected by a little bit of money on the stadium and good decisions in the boardroom and good decisions in the recruitment department.

“What I’m saying is, Liverpool, City, Tottenham, all these clubs have had poor recruitment policies over the last 25 or 30 years at times. So United are going through one at the moment.

“Eventually they will stumble upon the right recruitment system, the right recruitment people, they’ll get a great manager – hopefully that’s Ole – and they’ll start to win again. That’s going to happen.

“I can guarantee you as clear as day, Manchester United will win again. They’ll probably win the league before Liverpool, in my opinion. And that’s not being disrespectful, they’ll probably win the league before Liverpool.”

Neville’s claim comes in the wake of the Reds winning the Champions League last season and backing that up with a Super Cup victory over Chelsea on Wednesday.

While Neville concedes Jurgen Klopp’s side will likely lift more silverware in Europe before the Red Devils, he believes domestically, United are closer to success.

“I think they’ll win a league before Liverpool,” Neville continued.

“They’re more ripe, they’re closer than you think and it’s not as bad as you think. That’s always the way it is.”

United did make a strong start to their season after beating Chelsea 4-0 but so did Liverpool, who dispatched Norwich 4-1.

After a short-lived managerial career with Valencia, Neville recently ruled out a return to coaching , claiming he has no desire to return to the training ground.

Ex-Roma legend Daniele De Rossi scores on dream Boca Juniors debut in Copa Argentina

The Italian legend opened the scoring in his first match for the Argentine club during the Copa Argentina encounter

Daniele De Rossi marked his Boca Juniors debut with a goal in a dream start to his career with the Argentine giants.

De Rossi, 36, joined Boca last month after ending an 18-year stay with boyhood club Roma in Serie A.

The midfielder had an instant impact in his first competitive match for the club, heading in the opening goal against Almagro in the Copa Argentina on Tuesday.

De Rossi got on the end of a corner from Alexis Mac Allister in the 28th minute to put Boca ahead at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata to rapturous applause from the home fans

His strike came in the round of 32 of the cup, with Boca bidding to win the tournament for a fourth time – having lifted the trophy in 1969, 2012-13 and 2014-15.

The former Italy international only scored 63 goals in 616 games for Roma, but made a dream goalscoring start to life at Boca.

When he decided to sign for Boca in July, De Rossi said he had chosen to continue his career with the craziest fans in football.

“These days I think I want to be inside this stadium, to know deeply what it means,” he told reporters when he committed his future the Argentine club.

“The reception at the airport was incredible. I can’t thank you enough other than by doing my job as seriously as I can. I have to be serious to show that we all made a good choice.

“From time to time we talked, Nicolas and I. First, I said yes after I left Roma, but then I asked him if I could think about it a little more.

“Being 36 years old and changing everything at once was something that could scare me, but this place stimulates me, and Nicolas was my guarantee.

“He told me that they are professionals in Boca, and I believe him. He is my friend; he would not have brought me to a place where I wouldn’t fit in.

“I need serious people, with a structure similar to that in Europe, and what I have seen here is that, a suitable place to work.

“I asked myself many times. I lived for 20 years in a country where football is lived 24 hours a day.

“I could have chosen a much quieter place to relax, but I only know one way: seriousness, and then I chose to come to a place with the craziest fans in football.”

Tammy Abraham: Should Chelsea stick with youngster for Super Cup?

Frank Lampard was justified in naming the Anglo-Nigerian wonderkid in the rout by Manchester United, but should he retain his place vs. Liverpool?

by James O’Conner

Tammy Abraham made his full Chelsea debut in Sunday’s humiliating 4-0 defeat to Manchester United, more than three years since his first outing as a substitute for the Blues.

Reaction from some sections of the English media hasn’t been kind, suggesting that he struggled and was only handed a chance for the sake of his youth, not his quality.

However, how did he perform in the game, and what can we expect from Wednesday’s Uefa Super Cup showing against Liverpool?

Firstly, let’s dispel rumours that Kevin Oghenetega Tamaraebi Bakumo-Abraham is a mere pup in professional football, only given his debut because Frank Lampard wants to use young English players, whether they are ready for the Premier League or not.

Abraham is nearly 22 and has played three full seasons of professional football, netting 60 goals in 9423 minutes (more than 100 ‘nineties’), amounting to a goal every 157 minutes on the pitch. Many mention his impressive loan at Aston Villa, but he also won Bristol City’s Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer in the 2016-17 Championship season.

So often, his disappointing loan spell in the Premier League at Swansea is mentioned as a rebuke. Granted, he netted just five goals in the league, but he started only 15 times and had four goals from his first eight games.

There was even talk of Chelsea trying to recall him that January with Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi struggling to replace Diego Costa. In the end, Swansea’s managerial change from Paul Clement – who knew Abraham from coaching him in the Chelsea academy – to Carlos Carvalhal saw his appearances largely limited to short substitute outings in losing causes.

In addition, Abraham was set for a Premier League loan last summer and had several clubs interested, but Maurizio Sarri was impressed by the forward in preseason and kept him past the Premier League transfer deadline.

When a move to guarantee minutes was later decided upon, only the Championship transfer window was still open.

Antonio Conte was another coach to be impressed with the striker, describing him as ‘the future of Chelsea’.

So how did he fare at Old Trafford?

Abraham had a strong start to the game, not only rifling a shot against the post in the 4th minute but also showing strong hold-up play against Harry Maguire early on. His attempt against the woodwork had come from an excellent pass around-the-corner to send Mason Mount scurrying away up the right flank to win a corner, with Maguire bypassed by Abraham’s touch.

He tried to turn Victor Lindelof later on and was tackled, and he could perhaps have done a better job in screening a pass into Paul Pogba soon after. Ten minutes in and he found himself free on the penalty spot, hoping for a lofted cross from Cesar Azpilicueta. Instead, a low cross was missed by United’s defenders and Abraham was fractionally late with his run to turn the ball home.

The disappointment with that delay in his run is largely because so many of his 60 career goals have come from low crosses into the area that he arrives onto to finish first-time. In fact, every single goal he has scored in his professional career has come from inside the box. He is an excellent predator when the ball is wide and is so often in the right place at the right time. For that chance, he will regret not gambling on a square pass, but to be fair, he was completely free for a different type of delivery too.

A large reason why coaches use video analysis is because it’s very difficult to remember everything that happened in the game, and fans are no different. Despite a notion that Maguire and Lindelof won most of their duels against Abraham, that is simply not true.

Another good opening came when Abraham got free between-the-lines, received the ball from Azpilicueta and found Ross Barkley. The ball was worked out to Mount on the right but he made a hash of a cutback to Abraham, again free inside the box.

Towards the end of the half, Maguire competed for a ball up-the-line to the striker and ended up on the floor as Abraham held the ball well and found a teammate.

Of course, many will point to the second goal where a Chelsea attack broke down and Manchester United netted on the counter attack after Maguire shoved Abraham aside. Not fairly it should be said, but by clearly fouling the striker.

Aside from the above actions, there were other strong moments to win 50-50 balls against both central defenders, a clean tackle on Paul Pogba on the halfway line after tracking back and of course, a couple of duels that United’s central defenders won against him.

That is the nature of playing as a lone striker – you’re facing two centre backs, so one can always aggressively challenge you.

The top target men tend to win slightly more than half of their duels and force good ‘second balls’ for teammates to compete for in those challenges that they lose; Abraham did this very well.

He also defended his box well from set-plays, a crucial requirement in such a short Chelsea XI.

Aside from his ability to be a poacher inside the box and hold the ball up well, the other key reason that Lampard selected Abraham is for his pressing ability. When United largely outplayed Chelsea in April in a 1-1 draw, Gonzalo Higuain was the striker selected and he gave nothing to the side out of possession.

For this game though, the choice was between Abraham, Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi. The latter duo have their strengths, but neither offers great ability to close down from the front. Giroud is a tactically disciplined player and very hard-worker, but is slow across the ground when closing down and also does not offer a genuine out-ball with his lack of pace. If opponents sit deep, he is a great at bringing teammates into play and scoring from crosses, but against more athletic centre backs, he is often faced with playing 40 yards from goal and scrapping for high balls.

Batshuayi, on the other hand, offers excellent finishing ability with both feet and good movement inside the box, but he has often been a relative passenger when opponents are playing out from the back.

Abraham excelled in preseason in his high pressing, curving his runs to cut the pitch in half horizontally and direct opponents into traffic, whilst also counter-pressing well when the ball is lost by his side.

Despite claims from Jose Mourinho that Abraham was the wrong pick for this game due to inexperience, that simply isn’t true.

Lampard selected the striker most deserving from preseason performances and for tactical requirements – his pressing and positioning shows a maturity in his game from playing regular football. The other parts will improve naturally from playing at a higher level and with better players. He has more than earned that chance on merit and is has nothing to do with age or nationality.

A review of Abraham’s performance showed far more positive moments than negative. Next up is the challenge of Virgil Van Dijk in Wednesday’s Uefa Super Cup Final, and another challenge for this talented young hitman.

Neymar transfer news: Tuchel understands fan anger toward Brazilian after taunts

After derogatory chants were directed at Neymar before and during the 3-0 win over Nimes, PSG boss Thomas Tuchel had his say.

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel defended Neymar but also said he understood why the wantaway star was targeted by the club’s own supporters during Sunday’s Ligue 1 win over Nimes.

Neymar – tipped to leave the French champions amid links to Barcelona and Real Madrid – sat out the 3-0 victory against Nimes as PSG opened their title defence with three points.

Amid growing speculation over an imminent departure, sections of the Parc des Princes aimed derogatory chants towards Neymar before and during the match.

“It’s a little difficult, I don’t know what to say. I saw [the public’s reaction on Neymar] on my colleagues’ phones because I hadn’t heard that during the game,” Tuchel said about the chants directed at Neymar.

“Can I understand that? Yes and no, that’s the way it is in our lives. The emotions are serious, the emotions are still there, okay. But on the other hand, Neymar is still our player, still my player, and I will always protect my players. He’s in the locker room, he’s here and I’ll protect him.

“I can understand that not everyone likes what he said and what he did. I understand, but we have to express a level to express our emotion.”

Asked if PSG missed Neymar against Nimes, Tuchel added: “He is still missing, because he can find solutions that only he can find. He can open spaces with movements, accelerations, one against the other.

“It was a little lacking today to be more decisive in the first half. But we have to find other solutions, we have to give rhythm with passes, with intensive runs. But it’s clear, he’s Neymar, and he has extraordinary qualities. If he is not on the field, he is missing, but it is our challenge to find solutions. We still have to improve.”

While Neymar was absent on Sunday, Edinson Cavani, last season’s top scorer Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria led the way for PSG in Paris.

After Cavani broke the deadlock via the penalty spot in the first half, Mbappe and Di Maria put the result beyond doubt following the interval.

“The best thing is that they [Neymar and Mbappe] play together,” Tuchel said. “It is not a question of whether Mbappe can give more when Neymar is not there.

“Kylian gives a lot, he’s been very focused for four weeks now. He puts a lot of intensity into training, into matches. It’s great for the team to improve. But the best thing is that Neymar is next to him.”

Mbappe, who hinted he could be ready for a “new project” following the 2018-19 season, scored a Ligue 1-high 33 goals as PSG retained their crown last term.

“As I said last year, he is invited by the club to take more responsibilities every day. Taking responsibilities does not mean taking every penalty, hitting every corner or every free-kick,” Tuchel continued. “It’s not like that, there are many ways to take responsibilities, and he does that.

“He started this season with a lot of concentration, I’m very happy. He’s here, I have a feeling he’s happy. He has objectives for himself and the team, and he does everything to achieve them. He gives his opinion, and we’re going to keep developing that. He has a good relationship with everyone, he is reliable.”