Tuchel: If Mbappe trains well he will be included in squad for Atalanta match

Date: 11th August 2020 at 9:34pm
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Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel appears confident that Kylian Mbappe will be available for their match against Atalanta on Wednesday.

The French side and La Dea will do battle in the first of four Champions League quarter-final matchups in Lisbon, with the Italian side tipped by many to pull off the upset.

That enthusiasm may be tempered somewhat by Tuchel’s comments on Tuesday, as he left the door open for Mbappe to be included in the squad despite suffering an ankle injury against Saint-Etienne recently.

“If he [Mbappe] trains well and nothing big happens he will be with us tomorrow,” he stated at his pre-match press conference.

“Will [Marco] Verratti be available? We have to be patient. He wasn’t doing well last week, he couldn’t run, but he’s improved since yesterday.

“It will be difficult for him to be available for the semi-finals, but he has improved a lot.”

Atalanta have surpassed expectations to reach this stage of the competition, but Tuchel remains confident of getting past the Italian side.

“Atalanta have a unique style as they like to play man to man all over the pitch and pressure the ball with seven players in the opposition’s half,” he added.

“It will be a tough match considering they score a lot of goals. It will be a great match but we can find space to attack in. We’ve prepared for the match over the past few days and today will be our last training session.

“Tactics will be important but so will our mentality, we must remain focused. It will be tough against Atalanta but we are also a good side. We have a great chance of winning.”

 

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