Luis Enrique surprised everyone again by making João Neves the left back of PSG during the second half against Toulouse (3-0). A totally unexpected choice, but which offers several interpretations with more or less important consequences. Back to this choice.
After a first period in a role usual for him as a sentry, João Neves played the entire second period of PSG / Toulouse ((3-0) as left back, a totally unusual and necessarily new role. There are a few month, another right-handed midfielder, Warren Zaire-Emery, had also spent a full half-time in this position during OM/PSG (0-2) following the expulsion of Beraldo A freelance job with no future and linked to the context. of the match.
A left back with golden feet to restart from the back
But in the case of Neves, the situation is different since the starting left-back, the young Yoram Zague, was not injured at all and could have continued. When justifying the change, Luis Enrique spoke at a press conference about the characteristics of the Portuguese environment: “I wanted to use his ability to restart from the back more in the second half. He was very good in this lower position. » But four days before a Bayern/PSG match and at the end of an international break during which Neves played a lot, this replacement is a challenge.
There are, overall, two ways to interpret this move to left back by Neves, even if it is necessarily a choice to accustom the player to this position. Because whether temporarily or more permanently, João Neves will find himself in this position again during the next matches, if only because it is one of the mechanisms of the Parisian collective: the left midfielder sometimes finds himself in this left-back position to allow Nuno Mendes, usual left-back, to move up. Fabian Ruiz sometimes plays there, João Neves had played there in short sequences during previous matches.
A replacement to cover Mendes or replace him?
But this full half of Neves in this left-back position can be seen as preparation for a possible replacement of Nuno Mendes in a few days in Munich. His Portuguese compatriot is injured in the ankle and uncertain for the duel in Bavaria. Faced with the fast Bavarian wingers, Beraldo lacks too much liveliness as many matches have shown. On the contrary, Neves has for him this explosiveness of the first meters and a real ability to win duels, hence the fact that he is ultimately a credible solution to a position which nevertheless does not seem absolutely cut out for him otherwise. of his profile.
But the other way of seeing this replacement refers to the way in which the left lane of PSG in general is underexploited, particularly Nuno Mendes. By positioning Neves as a left-back for a phase as long as a full half, Luis Enrique has possibly positioned him that way so that he will be more comfortable there when Nuno Mendes plays. With Neves able to hold the position when Paris has the ball, Nuno Mendes could benefit from more offensive freedom, where he is particularly brilliant.
This second half of João Neves as left back against Toulouse will probably deliver its real interpretation during the next matches but it necessarily seems linked to Nuno Mendes. It remains to be seen what the return of the post holder will change from now on.
