– Denis Zakaria shines in the Champions League
The Geneva captain of AS Monaco was brilliant in midfield against Barcelona. He is included in the typical team of “L’Équipe”.
Published today at 1:39 p.m.
Denis Zakaria (center, here facing Lamine Yamal) was impressive on Thursday night.
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Denis Zakaria is emerging as a big boss at the start of the season. Promoted to captain of AS Monaco, he is leading his team to the top. Currently third in Ligue 1 without having known defeat after four matches, the Monaco club took the scalp of FC Barcelona (2-1) on Thursday evening in the Champions League.
And Denis Zakaria was omnipresent at the Stade Louis-II. He established himself as the leader of ASM, so much so that he was included in L’Équipe’s team of the year after this first day of the Champions League.
Zakaria was given a rating of 7. He belongs to a team that includes Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) in goals, Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, who received a rating of 9 for his four goals against Dinamo Zagreb) and Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid).
“This is the start to the competition that we wanted,” said Zakaria at a press conference. “We wanted to win, and we did it. We could have finished the match quicker, but the main thing is to have managed to take these three points. Beating Barça in the Champions League is a source of pride. It’s easier with 11 against 10 (due to Eric Garcia’s sending off in the 10th minute), that’s clear, but we did it anyway.”
The forward continued: “Is it an achievement? I don’t know. But it’s something we were preparing for. Against Barça, we have to be full-on and aggressive, otherwise, they’ll be the ones passing the ball around.”
It remains to be seen whether the message has reached the ears of national coach Murat Yakin. Will he continue to relegate Zakaria to the role of eternal substitute? Or will he decide to make him an undisputed starter in view of his performances?
The answer will be on October 12, during the Swiss team’s next match in Leskovac, Serbia.
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