This Saturday, as part of the 18th day of Ligue 1 2024-2025, Paris Saint-Germain took on Lens at Stade Bollaert. After a first half in which the Reds and Blues clearly didn’t have a good game, they nevertheless won 1-2. Here are our notes on the Parisians.
Goalkeeper –
Gianluigi Donnarumma (4) – Donnarumma showed his limitations once again, with some sluggish re-launches and an unbelievable effort on goal. Better in the second half.
Defenders –
Lucas Beraldo (4) – Good rallies, but poor in the duels. He doesn’t have the physical strength to fight. On the Lens goal, he didn’t get on top of the player, so he really needs to improve… His second half was more consistent, though.
Willian Pacho (5) – Orphaned by Marquinhos, he was fairly average in the first half. A little weaker in duels and we saw his limitations in the restart. He woke up a little in the second half.
Lucas Hernandez (5) – A decent first half. Replaced by Joao Neves in the 60th minute.
Nuno Mendes (5) – A complicated first half for him with his new position. Couldn’t make a difference. In the second half, further down the pitch, he made a greater contribution. More effective.
Midfielders –
Fabian Ruiz (5) – No personality, even if he was the only one to strike in the first half. He needs to take the lead, but seems incapable of doing so. Still, it was he who got the team back on track with his goal.
Vitinha (6) – He was the only one who tried to play forward, but with too much technical waste in the first half in particular. He’s still the regulator in midfield, but it’s still below what he contributed last year.
Warren Zaïre-Emery (3) – He’s aggressive, but hides when it’s time to play. He clearly has some way to go if he is not to become that eternal talent in the making.
Forwards –
Lee Kang-in (3) – 10/10 to make hooks, 0/10 to move the game forward. Creatively, he’s only as good as his hook. He makes far too many backward passes. Replaced in the 60th minute by Gonçalo Ramos.
Désiré Doué (5.5) – Tried hard, but wasted a lot. He also touched the ball too much, which made it difficult to keep Lens off-balance. Much better with the tactical changes, he brought more percussion and more passing. Encouraging. Replaced by Senny Mayulu in the 88th minute.
Bradley Barcola (5) – Barco(pas)la, that’s what we saw in the first half. He runs fast, but he doesn’t make any difference. Fortunately, his second half was better, on the left, with a decisive goal.
Coach –
Luis Enrique (4) – Luis Enrique’s touch is clearly evident on the pitch. Of course, he’s not the one who takes the character out of the players, but at some point, you have to stop this 10-man passing game with the defenders. He was able to react, but he really needs to play a full match. It’s often a reaction PSG.
