PSG: Bradley Barcola – KHVICHA KVaratskhelia, the new sparkling duo

Paris knows-Germain started its XXL calendar on Sunday evening. Before thinking of the double confrontation against Liverpool, the duel against the Briochin stadium in the French Cup or the championship posters against Lille or Rennes, the Parisian troops had a perilous trip during this 23rd day of League 1. Indeed, Parisians settled on the banks of the Rhône to face Olympique Lyonnais on the lawn of Groupama Stadium. A battle that is always eagerly awaited by Lyonnais and Parisian supporters, as well as – more broadly – all French football observers. For this showdown, Luis Enrique decided to send heavy to start the meeting with in particular the starts of Ousmane Dembélé in point but especially the duo composed of Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

In a press conference on Saturday, the Spanish coach had also been questioned about the use of French and Georgian together: “With Kvara the goal was to improve the team, everyone pushes their competitor. Barcola is a very young player. It has a very promising future. With a youngster, you never know what's going to happen. You have to give them enough space for it to grow. In the part he marked less, he was of course on the assists. I see at home an improvement on his work in defense. Success is based on having players capable of playing in different places. You can see that there are never two goals that look alike. This is the goal of being a versatile team that can play in different ways“Said the former Roja coach. The performance of the two players against Lyon on Sunday is in any case a good proof of the possibility of seeing them cohabit.

A pair that works

This is indeed the question that has been on all mouths since its arrival at PSG this winter. Has KHVICHA KVARETSKHELIA arrived in Paris to compete with Bradley Barcola? Or is the Georgian a strong link in a new efficient winged duo? The weeks go by and everything suggests that Barcola and Kvara can indeed play together. They are interchangeable and everyone shines on one side:“To the same extent as for other players, we are looking for the best possible form for everyone. It is still growing, it is still in the adaptation phase. It is not entirely 100 %. We are looking for the team solution to have the best competitiveness in all matches ”said Luis Enrique at a press conference. In addition to being hard -hitting in his dribbles and clean in his passes, the former Naples player seems to free up space for Ousmane Dembélé, a new scorer in new false. The latter was also the author of the second Parisian goal on a decisive pass from the native of Tbilissi. With 65 touches balloons and 91% of successful passes, Kvaratskhelia was a real poison for the rearguard of the premises.

If the Georgian illustrated himself above all in the content, Bradley Barcola nevertheless offered a small caviar for the opening of the Hakimi score (53rd). In a context far from being simple with the rain of whistles of its former supporters, the French international continues on his beautiful form: “I believe that since the 1st day we arrived at the club, we want to play everything for the attack, be good in attack and score goals. We want to offer victories and titles to spectators but also play with the way. There is no calculation, wherever we go we are trying to win. The team grew up in terms of personality, even if I would have liked to improve our emotional and physical control. We lacked control. I didn't really like the end of the match». The very hot welcome that Groupama Stadium had reserved for him did not seem to affect the old Lyonnais. On his left wing, the 22 -year -old tried a good number of dribbles, often with success. It is by accumulating solid offensive copies simultaneously that Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will become unstoppable.