Thomas Tuchel: 'Keep producing top-quality performances'

Coach, in spite of the big win against Monaco, there was the feeling you were less than happy...
"I was happier with the way we played against Marseille, Lille and Napoli than I was against Monaco. We allowed far more chances in the first half than in the three other games, during which we were better structured, better positioned. We perhaps lacked determination and focus, in spite of the bigger scoreline."

How would you define the system you have put in place at Paris Saint-Germain ?
"The more possession we have, the fewer chances our opponents will create. How we deal with losing the ball is crucial for us. I think we are still losing too many balls too easily, but at the same time we are more structured going forward. It's quite a complex aspect that we are working on. Whether we play with four or five defenders, it's they who create the structure for the attacking players; allowing them to express their creativity to the max without having to worry too much about their positioning. And we have to make sure we close down the space to not get caught on the counter-attack. It's our system. And our attacking elements, when we lose the ball, have to press intensely for six or seven seconds to be able to get the ball back as quickly as possible."

Does the team's lead at the top of the table allow you to change your system?
"I don't really change my approach to games because we have won the first 13 games. And I don't want to take more or less risk either. If a player is good and he deserves to play, he'll play. And if a player should rest, I will give him a breather. For example, against Monaco, we decided to give Marquinhos a rest and he knew that from the start of us preparing for the game. We knew Presnel Kimpembe was coming back from suspension for the game and Marqui knew that he was going to have a rest. I think telling the players that we're going to try new things because we're a long way ahead would be to send the wrong message to the team. We work to gain more and more confidence while knowing that it's increasingly difficult to stay focussed because of that lead. Now, our challenge is to above all keep the same motivation for each game. For the moment, we're managing to do that."

Layvin Kurzawa and Dani Alves are slowly coming back into the squad...
"Their return is very important. You can see Dani is growing in confidence. He's a player who has never doubted, and who is important, notably thanks to his career. Layvin is a little more reserved, and his return is important because we're lacking players who can play on the left. But I feel they're still not 100 percent ready, and that it'll take a little more time before they're completely ready."

The match against Toulouse is coming up. What do you think the biggest danger is regarding this game?
"The fact we're coming back from an international break can have an impact on our approach to this game. We constantly try to create team spirit, every day, and the international breaks can hold that back a bit. The challenge, which isn't always the easiest, is to get that team spirit back as soon as possible before the match which follows the international break. And we won't have a lot of time before Toulouse, we've got matches coming thick and fast, every three days, top games, that we want to approach with a maximum of motivation."