Thomas Tuchel hailed Ander Herrera for his performance in Paris Saint-Germain's win over Rennes, claiming the midfielder "died in the dressing room" for the team.
PSG boss Tuchel's unusual praise was in recognition of Herrera's work rate, while the former Manchester United star has featured in all 13 of the club's matches this season.
The Ligue 1 champions are heavily depleted through injuries, with Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Marco Veratti among the first-team regulars sidelined.
But PSG dug deep to beat Rennes, with Everton loanee Moise Kean opening the scoring and Angel Di Maria grabbing a double in the 3-0 victory, which puts them five points clear at the top of the table.
While Di Maria grabbed headlines with his two goals and assist for Kean, Tuchel heaped praise on Herrera for his gut-busting display.
“Ander was dead before the match,” Tuchel said. “He died in the dressing room tonight. What he did was exceptional. The same for Leandro Paredes.
“We took risks. At the start, we hoped he would play an hour but it was necessary for him to play the whole of the match.
"We played a really good Rennes teams but we showed a good mentality and a collective effort. It was a great win.”
Di Maria's double takes his tally to four goals for the season. He also scored against RB Leipzig in midweek, but missed a costly penalty in the 2-1 defeat to the Bundesliga club.
Tuchel was delighted to see the ex-United forward - who was suspended earlier this season over a spitting violation - bounce back after his penalty miss.
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The PSG boss added: “Angel likes to play a lot to get his rhythm. He was suspended for four games and it was very difficult for him – and serious for us.
“After his missed penalty in Leipzig, which was a key moment, he was very sad. Today, he took his responsibilities and gave a good response.
"That’s sport. There will be difficult and sad moments, but you must get up. He did that and I’m very happy.”
Tuchel was less positive about his growing injury list after a number of players came off with complaints against Rennes.
“Moise Kean took a lot of blows, and he already had pains before the match,” Tuchel said. “We used him a lot and physically, he was exceptional. I hope there’s nothing too serious for him.
“Idrissa Gueye is suffering again with his hamstring, and for Thilo Kehrer, it’s the same groin injury. That means it’s grave. Alessandro Florenzi is not injured. He was very tired.”
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