Winger Bradley Barcola is one of the key weapons of the new era PSG which will face Arsenal in London in the Champions League on Tuesday (9:00 p.m.), after having swept away the doubts which briefly escorted it in the middle of September.
In the absence of Ousmane Dembélé, the other wisp of the Parisian attack on “coach’s technical decision”the former Lyonnais will be all the more expected on the Emirates pitch.
Almost solely responsible for PSG’s offensive efficiency on Tuesday evening in view of its statistics and the non-call-up of Dembélé, the pressure is now on his shoulders, while Marco Asensio returns from an injury and Randal Kolo Muani plays still little and without confidence in the Parisian jersey.
After a great start with four goals in three matches for PSG and one for the French team, Barcola experienced a three-match slump in September: his trajectory was difficult to read at the start of the season.
“When he has matches where he doesn’t score, you shouldn’t come and ask me the same questions to tell me that it’s a draw”declared Kylian Mbappé, his former teammate in Paris, and his captain with the Blues at the beginning of September.
These doubts could become nagging if Barcola does not quickly redress the situation, since PSG is still orphaned by Mbappé, the top scorer in its history, who left this summer for Real Madrid. Especially since the sports management believes that the best position for young Désiré Doué, recruited this summer in Rennes, is also on the left wing and that he could quickly compete with him.
But the tendency is once again to consider that the 22-year-old player is quite a crack after his double against Rennes in Ligue 1 on Friday (3-1). He opened the scoring with a beautiful hook to position himself, followed by a magnificent curl into the opposite net, then was in the right place to push a perfect cross from Achraf Hakimi into the net. His shot off the post then led to the goal with a diving header from Lee Kang-in.
God or the Devil
PSG striker Bradley Barcola in the fight against Rennes defender Lorenz Assignon (left) at the Parc des Princes on September 27, 2024 in Paris / FRANCK FIFE / AFP
And more broadly, his impact was significant in the game, making the Rennes rearguard dizzy, even though he seemed so nonchalant when his slender body swayed, before executing a dribble at lightning speed. .
“Today it’s God, yesterday it was the Devil… Please, let’s raise the bar”asked his coach Luis Enrique, always keen to protect his players from media turmoil.
“I think no player plays well all the time, especially at 21 or 22”he noted. “Our luck is that he is balanced, humble, with good family values. (…) There were ups and downs last (last) season. The press always wants something white or black but that’s not life, because there is also gray”underlined the Spanish coach.
Within the club, we abound and protect the player, who has granted very few interviews since his arrival last season: “This is his third season as a professional and we would like him to be decisive in all matches. He can never be a disappointment. Bradley is already no longer the same player he signed” in the summer of 2023 after a good six months in Lyon, an internal source explained to AFP.
“More and more he takes responsibility, seeks to be decisive. We need attackers like that. he’s an increasingly important player in the team”greets Captain Marquinhos for his part.
