Strasbourg-PSG: match notes

Man of the match: Asensio (7): after a good performance against Brest last week, the Spaniard was returned to the Parisian eleven this Friday. More central last Sunday, the former Real Madrid player was back in a right winger role which suits him just as well. And his meeting will have been very successful again this evening. Inspired, we can feel that the La Roja international is confident at the moment. Taking his chances, the three-time winner of the Champions League lost a few stupid balls but above all produced several offerings which put his attacking colleagues into orbit. His good pressing on the Alsatian goalkeeper also opened the scoring to Kylian Mbappé. Already a scorer last Sunday, the Iberian striker then did it again this Friday without trembling following a superb service from KM7. Even when he was less visible offensively, the former Merengue was useful and was of great help to Carlos Soler thanks to his good defensive withdrawal.

PSG

– Donnarumma (6): little used this evening in the first period, the Italian goalkeeper was reassuring in most of his interventions this evening. It was upon returning from the locker room that the former Rossoneri was imperial. Even if he can’t do anything about Dilane Bakwa’s beautiful strike when reducing the gap, the transalpine goalkeeper will have made several important interventions, especially at the end of the match. Counting 7 saves at the end of the match, it allowed Paris to get three points in Alsace despite repeated Strasbourg attacks.

– Soler (3.5): Positioned in a hybrid role between the right lane and midfield, Carlos Soler was interesting for several minutes. Obviously, the former Valencia player shone more offensively than in the defensive phase where he was sometimes overwhelmed by Angelo, Habib Diarra and Emanuel Emegha during the second act. Often appearing disarmed defensively, his combativeness was not enough to plug the gaps and too many Alsatian offensives went through his right side. Replaced by Nordi Mukiele in the 87th minute.

– Marquinhos (4.5): back in the central Parisian hinge, the Brazilian will have held the house alongside a still feverish Beraldo. The most requested player with the ball, the Parisian captain was good in his recovery and reassuring defensively during several hot actions from his opponents. Good in his duels, he should nevertheless have managed better several situations where he was fooled by inspired Strasbourg attackers. Replaced by Danilo Pereira in the 82nd minute.

– Beraldo (3.5): disappointing against Brest last Friday, the PSG summer recruit still has not reassured this Friday. Too naive against the Strasbourg attackers, his good reading of the game allowed him to make a few interceptions but this is still not enough when he has lost too many duels. Bad in the recovery, the Brazilian still has work to really establish himself with PSG.

– Hernandez (4): a generally unsuccessful match for the Parisian left defender. Too easily moved in the duels, the native of Marseille brought nothing offensively and was too easily overwhelmed on his side. Losing far too many balls stupidly, Hernandez was far too crumbly on his left side and several offensives came from his side which was too porous like the reduction in the Alsatian gap. A match to forget. Warned in the 30th minute of play.

– Ruiz (3): in difficulty during the first act, the 27-year-old midfielder will clearly not have reassured this evening. Without inspiration offensively, the former Napoli sentry did not shine defensively where he was often overtaken by Habib Diarra and was the author of several dangerous ball losses (69th). In short, Ruiz will clearly not have scored any points this evening where, despite some interesting long-range attempts (71st), he will have been weak everywhere this evening.

– Ugarte (5): starting as sentry, the Uruguayan had no room for error in order to permanently regain his place in Luis Enrique’s squad. And next to Fabian Ruiz who will have been in pure suffering, the defector from Sporting Portugal will have scratched a lot of balls which will have allowed him to be useful in the Paris region. Replaced by an interesting Vitinha this evening in the 54th minute of play.

– Zaire-Emery (5): back in the Parisian midfield, the prodigy from Montreuil once again produced an interesting performance. In the first period, WZE was less sparkling than usual. Losing a few regrettable balls, he had the merit of projecting himself forward and trying to bring the surplus against the Strasbourg defense. From a defensive point of view, the 17-year-old player sometimes seemed overwhelmed but his combativeness allowed him to always be as conquering as possible when it came to winning a few balls.

– Asensio (7): see above.

– Kolo Muani (5): returned to the forefront of the attack after a sluggish start under the Parisian tunic, the player trained at FC Nantes made a good start to the match. Interesting in depth, it was he who caused the missed penalty by Kylian Mbappé (6th). Subsequently, the former Eintracht Frankfurt player continued to provoke even if he faced a lot of waste in his game. Little found in depth, Kolo Muani tried to be impactful by often transplanting into the axis. Too selfish at times (39th). More discreet and more messy after returning from the locker room, the 25-year-old striker was replaced in the 82nd minute by Gonçalo Ramos.

– Mbappé (6): top scorer in Ligue 1 and above everyone since the start of the season, Kylian Mbappé remained silent last week against Brest. At Meinau, his start to the evening was sluggish. Losing several avoidable balls, the Bondynois also distinguished himself during the first quarter of an hour by missing his penalty against Alaa Bellaarouch (6th). Little found in depth, the captain of the Blues was forgotten in certain sequences which could have allowed him to open the scoring earlier. He was finally able to take advantage of Marco Asensio’s mischief to open the scoring in the empty goal (31st). Returning from the locker room, he returned the favor to his Iberian friend with a clever outside foot (48th). Making quite a few differences, the former Monegasque therefore produced a generally satisfactory performance and was a great architect of the Parisian victory.

Strasbourg

– Bellaarouch (5.5): propelled as the starting goalkeeper of the RCSA after the departure of Sels, Bellaarouch had a dream match. For his first in Ligue 1, he might not have thought of a better start. From the 6th minute, he had to face Mbappé on a penalty. The young Moroccan dove left, the winning side. But Bellarouch went from laughing to crying. On a bad restart, although easy, he gives the goal to Mbappé for the opener (31st). A ball that weighed down his team. He can’t do anything about PSG’s second goal (49th). More generally, Strasbourg supporters were able to see a certain ease in his long clearances (11th, 56th).

– Senaya (4): the right defender had a difficult role this evening against Mbappé. We can’t blame him for his commitment, like Kolo-Muani who moves his shoulder (22nd). He is on the verge of the penalty just before half-time in front of the captain of the France team (45th). After the break, he can do better with a too rough cross. On the counterattack, the Parisians managed to make the break (49th). He then received an unfortunate yellow card after putting his hand on Mbappé’s face while running. Often late, he is not far from a second yellow card for a new foul on the Parisian number 7 (74th).

– Perrin (5): at fault from the start of the match on a fairly severe penalty on Kolo Muani. His good reading of the game reassured the Alsatian defense, as in certain Parisian centers (24th). The former Marseille player was overtaken on the counterattack leading to the second Parisian goal (49th). Taken as a whole, Perrin didn’t have a bad match.

– Sylla (5): for his eighth match in a row as a starter, the central defender made a lot of effort against the numerous Parisian attackers. He does not intervene on Kolo-Muani on the counterattack, which leaves him time to prepare his strike (39th). At the end of the match, he had the equalizing ball. After a free kick from Guilbert, the ball reaches him but he misses his head (90th + 4).

– Guilbert (5.5): his high recoveries allowed the Alsatians to quickly move forward. The Parisians also had difficulty getting over to his side. A little more messy then in his interventions. He took a shot, completely missed by the left-back.

– Sissoko (4.5): quickly warned for an anti-playing fault (26th), he was more discreet than usual in this match. In the midfield battle, he first gained the upper hand over Ruiz, before seeing the Parisian use his technical quality as on his team’s second goal. He has a great opportunity following a free kick, but his header lacks too much power (88th).

– Mwanga (5): his beautiful shot ends not far from the target (67th). He was imprecise on certain situations which could have benefited the Racing attackers. After only 27 successful passes in the match, he was replaced by Bechikh (89th) for his first in Ligue 1. The center forward was an additional solution in attack, but he did not have a situation despite good intentions.

– Diarra (7): the midfielder created numerous offensive situations, notably thanks to his breakthroughs in the Parisian environment. He tried to always move forward, even offering himself scoring opportunities. He jumps higher than everyone on a corner. He also attempts a long shot at ground level, blocked while he is perfect (26th), and another crushed shot in the first half (42nd). Fewer possibilities in the second half, even if he has an opportunity to equalize (69th). His offensive activity did not contrast with his defensive commitment. He recovered a large number of balls through his pressing. His very good performance ends with his exit for Deminguet (83rd). He delivers a good ball for Sissoko in the last 10 minutes.

– Bakwa (6.5): Lucas Hernandez will remember the Strasbourg resident. Bakwa was a real poison on his right side at the start of the match, forcing the Parisian left piston to make a mistake. He won corners, but didn’t necessarily use them well afterwards. Less visible in the second half, he was nevertheless decisive in reducing the score. Alone in the area, he receives a superb incoming cross from Ângelo and finally realizes an Alsatian opportunity (68th). Again after a very good cross from Ângelo, he chooses the force on a shot which flies away (79th).

– Dion (4): scorer last week, the number 9 of the day can bite his fingers on his first chances. The Ivorian was not very successful in his last gestures. From the first seconds, he found himself with the ball in the open area. After an excellent hook, he shoots at point blank range, but finds the shoulder of Donnarumma (2nd). Very mobile, the Strasbourg striker tries again with a new strike after the opening score (25th). No goal despite being the player who touched the most balls in the penalty area in the first half. He is replaced by the usual holder of the post, Emegha (52nd). Little used since his return from injury, he has not had any situations. We no longer saw the two eccentric attackers.

– Angelo (5.5): the Brazilian had, like his team, a good first half hour. Ângelo then disappeared a little. Little to his credit. He lost a lot of balls in front of Soler, although he was not a specialist in the position. We found him in the second half to replace his defenders, in particular with a very good intervention as a right-back (62nd), which sounded his wake-up call. He then makes a magnificent assist for Bakwa’s goal (68th). In the minutes that followed, he was sharper again, with a shot (70th) and excellent crosses (79th).