´Anything´s possible´ as PSG boss Tuchel eyes Champions League glory

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel said anything is possible in pursuit of Champions League success, despite the club’s injury list.

PSG reached their first Champions League semi-final since 1995 after stunning Serie A entertainers Atalanta 2-1 in a memorable comeback in Lisbon on Wednesday.

Without Marco Verratti and Angel Di Maria, and with Kylian Mbappe struggling for full fitness, PSG looked set to exit Europe’s premier club competition at the quarter-final stage yet again following Mario Pasalic’s first-half opener.

But Marquinhos’ 90th-minute equaliser and substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s winner three minutes into stoppage time broke Atalanta’s hearts and set up a semi-final showdown against either Atletico Madrid or RB Leipzig.

 #ATAPSG

The joy of our Parisians after this crazy meeting 

 #WeAreParis pic.twitter.com/tgkzcZcH5q

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 13, 2020

PSG, though, lost goalkeeper Keylor Navas to injury in the second half and Tuchel told reporters post-match: “We trust everyone within the team. We’ve worked hard and this team is ready to play three games.

“We can achieve that even with a slightly reduced team. But playing with or without Kylian Mbappe is a big difference, the same for Marco and Angel.

“We have six days to allow [Mbappe] to get back to his best level. Marco I’m not sure yet. We had another injured player today, Keylor Navas.

“We’re in the last four teams. We’ll see. We’ll stay positive and focused. Anything’s possible.”

Tuchel added: “I’m very happy because the two goals were late but the victory is deserved. We never stopped believing in ourselves, never stopped attacking. We played a great game, we showed great mentality.

“The players on the bench had a great impact to change the result. For me it’s deserved. We are lucky at the end but we made it happen. It’s normal that in a game like this, it happens like that. But the team played a great game.”