Thomas Tuchel said he benched Neymar for the player's own good against Real Madrid and did not fear upsetting the Paris Saint-Germain star.
Neymar, a starter against Lille on Friday, was introduced at half-time of a rollicking 2-2 Champions League draw in Madrid on Tuesday.
PSG trailed to Karim Benzema's opener when the Brazilian entered the game and fell further behind when the Madrid striker nodded in Marcelo's cross, before Kylian Mbappe and Pablo Sarabia struck in quick succession to force a share of the spoils.
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Tuchel admitted ahead of the Madrid showdown that Neymar could at times be tough to manage but insisted his reduced role at the Santiago Bernabeu was a direct result of his recent hamstring injury.