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2019-20 UEFA Champions League
12-15 August 2020
Quarter-finals
Paris Saint-Germain head coach coach Thomas Tuchel is more than wary of the threat posed by Atalanta ahead of their
UEFA Champions League quarter-final showdown in Lisbon on Wednesday evening.
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The French Ligue 1 champions will be favourites heading into the tie, but Atalnta pose a unique threat. Gian Piero Gasperini's men scored 98 goals in 38 Serie A games this past season while they thumped Valenca 8-4 on aggregate to book their place in the last eight of Europe's premier club competition.
“Defending well is going to be very important against Atalanta,” Tuchel told
beIN Sports.
“They have a totally unique style. They attack with all their players, move forward all the time and press everywhere. Their Number 10, [Papu] Gomez, is always free to roam. He tries to combine with other players in small spaces.
“They like to play down both sides with very attacking wingers, they put in crosses, but can also hit shots from distance.
He continued: "All this means we have to be very focused in defence and try not to concede, but we know that’s going to be very difficult keeping a clean sheet against Atalanta.”
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Tuchel will thus be relying on experienced shot-stopper Keylor Navas, who won three Champions League crowns in his time at Real Madrid, to keep things steady at the back.
“Keylor Navas could be the key, because he is always calm and has so much experience in this competition,” Tuchel added.
“He can keep talking to the defenders and calm everything down.”
UEFA Champions League fixtures, quarter-finals:
Wednesday, 12 August
21:00 -
Atalanta vs Paris Saint-Germain
Thursday, 13 August
21:00 -
RB Leipzig vs Atletico Madrid
Friday, 14 August
21:00 -
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
Saturday, 15 August
21:00 -
Manchester City vs Lyon
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