The Paris Saint-Germain head coach said the winger's actions were 'nervous' after his dismissal in their 4-3 win over Bordeaux
Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar was exempt from blame for his sending off in a 4-3 win over Bordeaux on Sunday after head coach Thomas Tuchel refused to criticise a reckless tackle.
Brazil international Neymar was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Bordeaux's Yacine Adli in added time of the Ligue 1 clash at the Parc des Princes.
The 28-year-old had an angry exchange with referee Willy Delajod and then appeared to sarcastically applaud the officials as he left the pitch.
However, Tuchel believed Neymar's reaction was a natural one given he felt the PSG player had been fouled beforehand by Bordeaux's Youssouf Sabaly.
Neymar is now set to miss PSG's next Ligue 1 fixture at home to Dijon on Saturday.
"We have to talk about the whole situation," Tuchel said of Neymar's challenge in his post-match media conference.
"He is nervous and he reacts. It is human. He must not, but it is human. And the Bordeaux player does not even get a yellow card."
PSG secured the points after a chaotic win thanks to two goals from Marquinhos and one apiece for Edinson Cavani – his 200th in all competitions for the club – and Kylian Mbappe.
It helped PSG increase their lead to 13 points over second-placed Marseille at the top of Ligue 1.
And Tuchel acknowledged the win helped boost morale as they produced a positive reaction to a 2-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.
"The victory is the most important thing now because there are things to improve, it is clear," added the German coach.
"The players lack a little confidence after a defeat. It's like that. We can see that a lot of teams in Europe after a defeat it's always a little difficult to regain spirit and confidence."
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Brazilian defender Marquinhos feels PSG must work hard to improve their defensive performances after leaking seven goals in their past two Ligue 1 games.
"On the one hand we are really very strong offensively, but on the other we concede a lot of goals," he told Canal+.
"As defenders we really have to think about what we can do best. In this match it was mainly on set-pieces. We really have to work better collectively."
Source : Football News, Live Scores, Results & Transfers | Goal.com
Tuchel: Neymar's red card came from a human reaction
Tuchel: Neymar's red card came from a human reaction
