Presnel Kimpembe accepted the Paris Saint-Germain players had to take the blame for their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund as Thomas Tuchel's tactics were not at fault.
Tuchel switched to a three-man defence, with Marquinhos lining up alongside Kimpembe and captain Thiago Silva at the back to grant Thomas Meunier and Layvin Kurzawa greater license to attack.
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The move did not appear to pay off as PSG were outplayed by Dortmund and suffered a last-16 first-leg defeat following Erling Haaland's brace, although Neymar netted a potentially precious away goal.
Kimpembe was not looking to place the blame at the door of the head coach, however.
He told RMC Sport: "It has nothing to do with the tactics, we're the ones playing. The same players were on the field.
"It's up to us to show our will and do what it takes to get the victory. Here we are and we lost, but we still have a return match at home."
Meunier, who will miss the return leg through suspension along with Marco Verratti, suggested fatigue was a factor.
PSG were playing for the 14th time since the mid-season break ended at the start of January, although Tuchel made seven changes from the team that drew 4-4 with Amiens on Saturday.
"We thought [Dortmund] had defensive problems, but the problem is we didn't create many chances," Meunier told BT Sport. "That's our fault.
"We weren't really sharp in the last 20 metres. I think you could see a little bit of fatigue. We played almost 15 games since the beginning of January and you saw it."
Yet Meunier still claimed PSG deserved a draw, adding: "It was really difficult, really intense. The first half physically was really demanding.
"Maybe we deserved a draw, but Dortmund were really, really good. They played like the home team, like they are used to doing.
"Since the beginning of the season, they haven't lost one game here at home. We saw today that it was difficult."