Thomas Tuchel: 'Just focus on Saint-Etienne'
Thomas Tuchel gave his thoughts on Friday's Ligue 1 encounter with Saint-Etienne and beyond when he faced the media on Thursday.
THE SAINT-ETIENNE GAME
"We're highly focussed on tomorrow's game. We're aiming to win, without thinking about the game against Liverpool on Tuesday. We can't prepare well for a league game when we're already thinking about the Champions League. We'd like to have a good feeling on the pitch to keep our run going, but we won't be thinking about the Liverpool match. For me, that's a very important aspect, and I want everyone to understand. We have to play very well against Saint-Etienne before thinking about preparing for the Champions League."
THE INTERNATIONAL BREAK
"It's difficult for Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Neymar, for example, because they played a game on Wednesday night/Thursday morning with Brazil. It's always difficult to deal with the international breaks. We'll take decisions based on the shape of each of them and we'll have to make choices so that we perform as well as possible against Saint-Etienne. But great players are able to play game after game, but we always have to minimise the risk while also being as ready as possible for the challenges ahead. Recovery is crucial, and we'll take a decision at the last minute after the last training session."
NEYMAR JR
"I like it when Neymar uses his dribbling skills to create chances. It's one of his strengths and it would be a shame not to make use of them. But he also knows how to use them to help the team as best as possible. He also adapts very well to our system, he's always very committed and very involved, and he talks a lot about the team, the group, and that's something I like very much. The important thing for us is to create chances, and he knows how to do that with his great technical quality."
MARCO VERRATTI'S RETURN
"It's very important for us to see a player like Marco Verratti, with his incredible technical and physical qualities, coming back into the team. He's worked very hard to get back into optimum shape and he knows he's going to have to work even more to continue performing long term. He's a player who can make the difference in the centre of the pitch, has a competitor's and winner's mentality, and so it's really good news to see him back with the team."