After a break of a big month, PSG got back on the road this Friday during a friendly match against Paris FC, behind closed doors at Camp des Loges.
This preparation meeting for the return of Ligue 1 on December 28 against Strasbourg was seriously contested by the men of Christophe Galtier, winners 2-1 thanks to goals from Nordi Mukiele and Ismaël Gharbi.
In the absence of the Globalists, Ekitike and Ruiz have notably shown themselves in sight.
Another friendly match is on the program for the Parisians on Tuesday December 21 against Quevilly-Rouen (Ligue 2).
The game :
It is an experimental team that Christophe Galtier lined up this Friday morning, mixing some usual holders (Ramos, Mukiele, Verratti) and young people (Bitshiabu, Gharbi, Housni).
Despite an obvious and logical lack of automatisms given the absences, the Parisian team showed themselves applied during this meeting of two 30-minute periods.
For its part, Paris FC established an almost standard team with the first tenure of Yvann Maçon, on loan from AS Saint-Etienne.
Dominating the game, Marco Verratti's partners quickly multiplied the chances through a very leggy Hugo Ekitike (see below).
Supported by their technically comfortable midfielder, PSG ended up making the difference at the quarter-hour mark thanks to Nordi Mukiele.
The right side has turned into a forward striker to deceive the opposing goalkeeper with a well-executed cross shot from the left.
Not worried for 20 minutes, Sergio Rico had to work to seriously dismiss two opposing attempts from Mandouki (22nd) and Guilavogui (25th).
16' @NordiMukiele's opener!
#PSGPFC
📺 Follow the game live: https://t.co/gIyJpZbaOhhttps://t.co/OkAyysSSzh pic.twitter.com/8xq2D1cljK
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) December 16, 2022
In the second period, the average age of the Parisian team dropped considerably when Christophe Galtier decided to give the youngsters a chance.
Warren Zaire-Emery entered at the break in place of Marco Verratti who had been true to himself, always so easy with the ball.
Ethan Mbappé, Kylian's little brother, Ayman Kari, Younes El Hannach and Vimoj Muntu wa Mungu were able to play a good quarter of an hour.
This team with false airs of formation of Youth League did not deserve.
She played the end of the match with the same seriousness and was rewarded for her efforts with a goal from Ismaël Gharbi.
The playmaker found the net with a nice straight shot from 18m (52nd).
The end of the match was tainted by an own goal from defender Younes El Hannach on an opposing cross, a few seconds before the final whistle.
Player: Hugo Ekitike
The former Stade de Reims striker ended his first part of the season on a high note by scoring his first goal with PSG against Auxerre.
We found him just as sharp this Friday.
If he did not score, Hugo Ekitike showed himself particularly in legs at the forefront of the attack.
From the 4th minute, he stood out with a shot from the left deflected with the left foot by Filipovic, before finding the crossbar five minutes later.
He could have found the net on two other occasions (19th, 24th), but his attempts each time found the gloves of the opposing goalkeeper.
Beyond these occasions, it is the activity of Ekitike which is to be highlighted, showing himself to be very available in the game, as a point of fixation and very mobile on the front of the attack.
An encouraging performance as he will benefit from playing time in the absence of the Globalists.
The number: 19
This is the number of years that separated Sergio Ramos and El Chadaille Bitshiabu, the two players making up the central hinge of PSG.
The experienced 36-year-old Spanish defender must have appreciated the performance of his young 17-year-old partner who was convincing during this game.
The player trained at PSG could also scrape a few minutes of playing time in the coming weeks.
The composition of PSG
: Rico - Mukiele, Sergio Ramos (El Hannach, 45th), Bitshiabu, Bernat (Muntu wa Mungu, 45th) – Ruiz (Mbappé, 45th), Verratti (cap.) (Zaire-Emery, 30th), Sanches (Kari, 45th) - Gharbi - Ekitike, Housni.
The composition of Paris FC:
Filipovic - Lefort, Bernauer, Guego, Maçon - Mandouki, Iglesias, Lasne - Gory, Caddy, Guilavogui.
