Former 1998 World Champion Bixente Lizarazu spoke to L’Equipe about 19-year-old versatile winger Désiré Doué and 24-year-old winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. For him, Doué is “phenomenal” and the Georgian is “a great success”. Finally, he mentions the great strength of the Parisians, who beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Lizarazu “This boy is really special”
“Paris was carried along by a magical duo…
Doué is phenomenal. This boy is really special, and he showed it again tonight. He’s capable of attempting technical gestures that show he’s different, and he’s tried them in the Champions League and with the French national team…
As for Kvaratskhelia, we mustn’t forget that he only arrived in January, so it’s still a great success in terms of his ultra-fast adaptation. The goal he scored was fantastic, the angle was well blocked by Martinez, but he still managed to score. The only one who wasn’t successful up front was Dembélé, even if there was that decisive pass at the end for Nuno Mendes.
Lizarazu “Their counter-pressing is very tiring for the opponent”
We didn’t get the impression that the Parisians doubted despite Villa’s goal…
They reacted very quickly, it didn’t weaken them, it didn’t break their rhythm or their morale. They got back into the game very quickly. They’ve got confidence, they’ve got momentum, they’re like a steamroller. Right now, they’re pretty irresistible.
Their counter-pressing is very tiring for the opponent, it’s very impressive and it breaks the opponent’s morale. Opponents want to have a phase of possession to breathe a little and no, they lose the ball again. And that’s hard.
As the game wore on, Villa’s players sensed that they weren’t going to get their hopes up. It soon became clear that they’d accept losing by a single goal. They showed their limitations. Paris has taken a big step towards qualification, even if, of course, there’s a way back.”
These are strong words, especially from a player who knows the very highest level of football inside out. He knows how to spot great teams, but also great players, and he’s good friends with a certain Zinedine Zidane. It’s true that Doué was fantastic, once again, against Aston Villa. We mustn’t forget Kvaratskhelia’s great performance, but above all that of PSG as a whole, who never wavered.
It’s hard to see how Aston Villa could score in the return leg without PSG conceding a single goal. The players led by Unai Emery are likely to need more than 3 goals. When you look at Paris’ form, the challenge is certainly too complex, although in soccer, you should never say never.
