PSG and Angel Di Maria have been breathing better since Sunday morning. As Thomas Tuchel had said, the Argentinian is not injured. The discomfort felt at the back of the right thigh on Saturday against Dijon (4-0) did not exceed alert status. The German therefore still hopes to count on ADM Wednesday evening in the semi-final of the Coupe de France in Lyon, a life-size test in view of the return of the knockout stages of the Champions League against Dortmund.
More discreet in life, as in the attitude on the ground than his attacking colleagues (Mbappé, Neymar, Icardi, Cavani), he also more easily escapes the attention of critics. Facing the Germans, on March 11, Di Maria will nevertheless be scrutinized. Because since his arrival in summer 2015 with the label of a player capable of passing a course in the Champions League, the former Real Madrid, crowned in 2014 in the queen competition, has not always confirmed his reputation.
Its place in the eleven of Paris is not open to debate. In any system. "He does a lot of decisive things," said Tuchel in mid-January. Goals, assists, penultimate assists ... You know I like it a lot. He is super reliable, super competitive with a good mentality. I love Angel, that's clear. " There is a fact: when Di Maria is fine, PSG is fine. This was the case at Manchester United in February 2019 (0-2, two assists), against Barcelona in February 2017 (4-0, two goals) or even against Real Madrid last September (3-0, two goals ).
Statistics that decline as the level rises
But the left-hander has also disappeared or shown its limits on certain (great) occasions. At the Santiago-Bernabeu (2-2) in November, as against Manchester City (2-2; 0-1) in spring 2016 or during the elimination against United (1-3) in March 2019. According to the figures compiled by the specialized Transfermarkt site, Angel Di Maria is decisive every 93 minutes (a goal or a pass) in all competitions combined with PSG. An average that recedes to a decisive action every 108 minutes in the Champions League. And which increases to 128 minutes if we refer to the knockout matches.
View this post on Instagram
🆕📰 #PSGLeMag. 💬 @angeldimariajm: "I came up with the idea of ending my career here" 💬 #AngelDiMaria: "I came up with the idea of ending my career here". #ICICESTPARIS #AllezParis #PSG #Fideo #ParisSaintGermain #Football
A post shared by Paris Saint-Germain (@psg) on Feb 28, 2020 at 9:24 am PST
“Each year I want to score more goals and give more assists. So, yes, I regularly look at the rankings of the top goalscorers and assisters. Clearly, I like that ”, confided the interested party to the PSG magazine published at the beginning of 2020. Di Maria will therefore have noted that he remains the most decisive passer in the workforce (in front of Mbappé). But that Pablo Sarabia has, since Saturday, scored one more goal (13 against 12). Against Dortmund, Paris will need its Argentinian. At 32, it would be prejudicial to him to miss a new opportunity.