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PSG-Nantes: Barcola and Kolo Muani on fire, the Parc on fire, life without Dembélé... Favorites and claws

2023-12-10T09:08:07.646Z

Highlights: PSG beat Nantes 1-0 at the Parc des Princes on Saturday. Bradley Barcola and Kolo Muani scored for the hosts. Luis Enrique's side face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday. A day of celebration in the Virage Auteuil, where we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Parias Cohortis. The return of the injured Marquinhos and Warren Zaire-Emery is very appreciable. The PSG-Nantes match was played in a difficult context after a supporter's death.


Beyond the final result, find out what caught our reporter's attention on Saturday at the Parc des Princes.


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Barcola and Kolo Muani score points

Who can predict which team Luis Enrique will field on Wednesday in Dortmund? A team without Ousmane Dembélé, suspended (see elsewhere). In the meantime, two players scored on Saturday, the two Parisian goalscorers, and in particular Bradley Barcola, who started for the second time in a row. In Le Havre (2-0 win), however, he had to give way after 12 minutes, after Gigio Donnarumma was sent off. All this after missing a shovelful of chances against Newcastle (1-1). "He had a great game," summed up Luis Enrique, even if the former Lyon man was beaten with a header on the Nantes goal and we would have liked to see him even more enterprising. Randal Kolo Muani, who came on as a substitute, also made a convincing appearance, finding the net against his former club after experiencing "a lot of lows" since the start of the season. Two players who really needed confidence and who took a lot of it.

Read alsoPSG-Nantes ratings: Mbappé discreet, Barcola's response, Kolo Muani ruthless

Nantes put on a good show

Admittedly, PSG dominated proceedings on Saturday. Logic. But the Canaries put on a good show, for Jocelyn Gourvennec's second on the bench, after beating Nice (1-0). All this in a difficult context after the death of a supporter. The NCF had not changed its system and almost no composition. In the end, the substitutes made Nantes bend at the end of the match. "When we're able to play these matches against Nice and Paris, it should push us to say to ourselves that we're a good team and that we want to become a very good team, which we're not yet," said Gourvennec, whose players are also close to Europe... than the red zone.

Read alsoPSG-Nantes: Paris "was good enough to win" before Dortmund, says Luis Enrique

Auteuil in celebration

It was a day of celebration in the Virage Auteuil, where we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Parias Cohortis. We saw beautiful tifos flourish before and during the match. Fireworks in front of the stadium before the match. Also at the end. Which may not please everyone at the LFP... In the meantime, it was a show in the stands. So much the better, because the show wasn't always there on the pitch, especially in the first half, before the first Parisian goal...

Marquinhos and Zaire-Emery, at the right time

PSG are playing for "their life" in Dortmund, or at least their European future. The return of the injured Marquinhos and Warren Zaire-Emery is therefore very appreciable. The first named, who was scheduled to return to action for this match against Nantes at the start, delivered a solid game, starting in the starting 11 before giving way to Milan Skriniar on the hour mark. The second – who was thought to be out for the rest of the year – came on in the second half. All indications are that they will be in the starting line-up at Signal Iduna Park. Reinforcements of choice for Luis Enrique.

CLAW STRIKES

Mbappé in the middle, it works moderately

Luis Enrique may talk about the "total freedom" granted to Kylian Mbappé, but the captain of Les Bleus played mainly in the middle on Saturday night. Rather on the left side though, combining and swapping with Barcola, but still. It could have allowed him to score in the first minute, but Alban Lafont won the duel. For the rest, he struggled to be impactful and above all decisive against the Canaries. For a while now, we've known that the preferred position of "KM" is on the left, with space and if possible a centre-forward who doesn't need too much of the ball, like in Les Bleus. With Paris-SG, it's something else... That doesn't stop the captain of the France team from having exceptional statistics. But it may not be the best way to get the most out of your potential.

Read alsoKolo Muani before PSG-Dortmund: "It's our lives that are at stake"

Without Dembélé, it's not the same story

It could be a crush. But Dembélé's very good comeback inevitably refers to his absence scheduled for Wednesday. The former Barcelona man picked up a "ridiculous" yellow card against Newcastle. He will be suspended for this C1 match. However, we saw on Saturday that there is a PSG with him and a PSG without him. Before his entrance, the Red and Blue lacked a little bit of everything to unsettle the Nantes block. His dribbling, his speed, his appetite for risk will be lacking in Dortmund. On Saturday, it was Kang-in Lee who stuck to it. The South Korean has qualities, that's for sure, but not the same as those of "Dembouz". "It's unique," says Luis Enrique. Not wrong.

Read alsoLigue 1: freed by Kolo Muani, PSG can turn to Dortmund

Ugarte, remember last summer

As has often been the case in recent times, we saw Manuel Ugarte borrowed and too often beaten in the duels against the Canaries on Saturday, far from the pit bull of the beginning of the season, the one who had amazed his teammates and observers. Fall in form? Had he been seen to be too beautiful? In any case, the Uruguayan no longer has the same impact as at the beginning of the season, that's clear.

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2023-12-10

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