In the Nations League, the French national team played at the Stade de France this Friday against Italy, finishing with a 1-1 draw. Three Paris Saint-Germain players—all French—were involved in the match: Désiré Doué, Maghnes Akliouche, and Ousmane Dembélé. Here are the press ratings for Les Bleus.
Le Parisien:
Doué (5.5) – Dembélé (4) – Olise (7)
Rabiot (5) – Da Cunha (4) – Cherki (6)
Truffert (5) – Upamecano (6) – Jacquet (7) – Kalulu (5)
Maignan (6.5)
L’Equipe:
Doué (6) – Dembélé (3) – Olise (7)
Rabiot (4) – Da Cunha (4) – Cherki (5)
Truffert (6) – Upamecano (6) – Jacquet (7) – Kalulu (5)
Maignan (7)
These ratings seem fair for what was, overall, a rather average match. Jérémy Jacquet and Michael Olise were particularly impressive, while other players struggled—including Dembélé, as well as Adrien Rabiot and Lucas Da Cunha. The latter, who had been very convincing against Belgium a few days earlier, found it harder to make an impact this time and was even at fault for the goal conceded.
This is to be expected; Les Bleus still need to work on finding the right formula and building chemistry. We would still like to see Dembélé looking a bit sharper, though we have seen him struggle at the start of a season before only to go on and shine at a Ballon d’Or level. Doué confirmed that he is gaining momentum, while Rayan Cherki once again showed great promise in midfield.
