Thomas Tuchel: Edinson Cavani must compete with Mauro Icardi

The Uruguayan has seen a dip in his form after suffering an injury at the start of the season.

The Paris Saint-Germain manager, Thomas Tuchel, has issued a warning of sorts to senior striker Edinson Cavani in getting him used to the competition for a starting spot with new recruit Mauro Icardi. Cavani’s career has come at a halt at the Paris-based club as on Saturday, he started only his first game since late August in PSG’s 2-1 victory over Brest. The Uruguayan, who otherwise has had a stellar stint with the Ligue 1 champions thus far, has faced a rough phase this season with his form fading away gradually. He was unable to make much of an impact and was replaced on the field in the 80th minute by Icardi - who scored the winner and helped the side notch three points as well. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Tuchel was probed about his star striker’s lack of form and he stated, “It's not easy to play against this team here for an attacker. He [Cavani] lacks rhythm. He must manage this competition. It's like that for his job. It's always difficult for an attacker, a very sensitive position." “But we have no choice but to accept this situation and work hard. Sometimes you are in a phase where you feel good. There is a bit of luck and everything goes perfectly. Mauro is in this phase,” said Tuchel. Tuchel had made several alterations to this lineup with respect to the side that won against Club Brugge in the midweek UEFA Champions League encounter.

Nine points clear on the top of Ligue 1

With regards to that, he was asked whether he was happy with the nature of this win as his team wasn’t entirely convincing during the course of the game and Tuchel said, “I really like this victory," he added. "A lot of changes have been made, including players lacking rhythm and confidence like Layvin [Kurzawa], Edinson [Cavani] and [Julian] Draxler. The changes were necessary to stay fresh." [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] “It was not easy in the first period with the wind against us. We had opportunities to accelerate but we made technical mistakes. The second period was easier to control but we gave an opportunity to the opponent, who scored.  A good reaction was shown afterwards. I felt like we really believed it. We deserved to win. We are the first to win here! (this season).” As of now, PSG are comfortably placed atop the points table with 30 points from 13 matches. In the Champions League, they have notched victories in all four games so far and are at the top spot of Group A.