Gabriel Moscardo had a third consecutive presence on the scoresheet for Reims, who lost 1-0 on Sunday in Toulouse, but the midfielder on loan from PSG has still not played a single minute with the Reims club .
Fourth in Ligue 1 at the end of the 7th day, Reims has just had three consecutive defeats against Auxerre (2-1), Brest (1-2) and Toulouse (1-0) and is in 8th place in the ranking on this Monday morning. Three defeats in which Gabriel Moscardo witnessed, but without participating since he did not come off the bench.
Loaned last summer to Reims by PSG, without purchase option, the young Brazilian defensive midfielder was present on the bench against OM at the Vélodrome on August 25 (2-2) before being left out of the Champagne group due to physical problems in the hip and pelvis. But the Brazilian has been training normally for a month and has been called up by Luka Elsner since October 20.
Before the reception of Brest on October 26, a week after not having used him against Auxerre, the Reims coach assured at a press conference that Moscardo was fit to play, but that he was going to have to fight to find a place in his team's starting lineup.
Moscardo victim of “very strong” competition and match scenarios
“He's ready, he's ready to be able to get on the field, assured the Slovenian. Afterwards, it will depend on the match scenarios in which we find ourselves. There is very strong competition in midfield, with the confirmation of the potential of Valentin (Atangana, 19 years old). We have Amadou (Koné, 19 years old), Gabriel is there. We have Marshall (Munetsi, 28 years old), we also had Teddy (Teuma, 31 years old), but unfortunately he will be unavailable this weekend. But in any case, there is competition. We also have to go about it in a logical way compared to what was done during the season, but we already find him a little bit fitter in training. »
Facing Toulouse this Sunday, Reims lost 1-0 by conceding a goal in the 84th minute. Munetsi was suspended for this match, but Elsner preferred to start the Atangana/Koné duo in midfield. And after Toulouse opened the score, the Reims coach brought in two offensive players (a winger and a center forward), but also brought in midfielder Mohamed Bamba for a few minutes in place of Amadou Koné. Aged 20, Mohamed Bamba played his first minutes in Ligue 1.
Against Auxerre, for his big return to the Reims group, Moscardo was not helped by the scenario of the match and the fact that his team was trailing 2-0 even if at the end of the match, Elsner preferred to bring in Amadou Koné rather than the Brazilian to replace Atangana in the 84th minute. Against Brest, Reims also trailed 2-0 and Elsner logically favored more offensive coaching during the match, but again brought in a defensive midfielder for the final minutes and this time it was Atangana who replaced Amadou Koné.
A new loan in January for Moscardo?
Will the trip to Le Havre on Sunday allow the Brazilian to finally play his first minutes of the season? With the return of Munetsi from suspension, it is not guaranteed, and his team will probably have to lead by a large margin before we see him set foot on the pitch at the Océane stadium. Enough to start to make some Reims supporters cringe on social networks (see below).
We also imagine that at PSG, where we closely follow the player's development, we are starting to get a little impatient. Let us also remember that PSG has the option of repatriating Moscardo free of charge next winter to possibly loan him elsewhere. An option that the player and the club will undoubtedly study seriously if his playing time does not take off by January…
