We don’t want to talk to him about age either. Just level. And this football which has changed so much that it gives the impression of highlighting much more young talent than in the past. On this first Wednesday in November, it is difficult not to mention the eighteen years and seven months of Warren Zaire-Emery. And for good reason. This fourth day of the Champions League will, once again, not have revealed much about this ineffective PSG on the European scene except that it can count on its toddlers to save its face, unfortunately not the bet.
At an age where one usually barely shows their license, it was indeed Warren Zaire-Emery who led his team on the path to opening the score this Wednesday against Atlético de Madrid. Since the winks are never too much and the records are often revealing, the native of Montreuil, the day after Real Madrid’s defeat against AC Milan at the Bernabeu, relieved Kylian Mbappé, the former idol of the Park, of a record he had held since 2017.
A real striker’s goal
By scoring his second goal of the season, his first in this new European campaign, Titi has, according to Opta, in fact become at 18 years and 243 days the youngest scorer at the Parc des Princes in the Champions League, ahead in this area the top scorer in the history of PSG who registered his name on the shelves at 18 years and 337 days old by scoring against Celtic Glasgow in November 2017.
The passing of the baton is all the more delicious as it was a real attacking goal that the Parisian midfielder scored this Wednesday evening. Achraf Hakimi (2nd), Ousmane Dembélé (5th), Asensio (10th) and Bradley Barcola (12th) had until then successively tried their luck, missing either the frame or the ball, quite simply the opportunity to open the score on the notice board. This will not be the case for Zaire-Emery, whose efficiency was matched only by his composure when he found himself, almost by chance, face-to-face with Oblak.
Far, very far from being in danger, it was indeed to everyone’s surprise that Clément Lenglet was dispossessed of the ball in his area by Ousmane Dembélé coming out of his box to offer a caviar to Zaire-Emery at the point penalty. A “caviardesque” offering which the youngest Parisians feasted on with relish. As if the penalty area were a schoolyard, Zaire-Emery first allowed himself a delicious feint before stinging his ball against the Spanish goalkeeper with the tranquility of a professional attacker.
Perfect confidence and realism but cruel for his partners in view of the final result as no other in the squad will have been able to imitate it at the finish.
An estimated value of more than 100 million euros
Despite the awakening of the second half, the ultra domination of Paris and the cascade of chances obtained in this fourth match of the Champions League, Zaire-Emery was the only one to shake the nets. Not really good news for PSG, perhaps more for their evening scorer.
A few hours before the match, the Parisian midfielder had, according to the CIES (International Center for Sports Studies) football observatory, joined the very closed circle of the most expensive players under the age of 21 on the transfer market. His value, estimated at 109 million euros during the day, undoubtedly skyrocketed again this Wednesday, unlike that of his club.
