Finally a victory and it feels good! Thirtieth in the standings with a small point gleaned against PSV, the PSG U19s hosted Atlético Madrid with the obligation to win to stay alive in the Youth League. For this crucial meeting, David Suarez, the Parisian coach, could count on the presence of Ibrahim Mbaye, present on a daily basis with the pros.
Disappointing and certainly lacking legs during the previous meeting against the Dutch, the young striker showed a completely different side this time. Hard-hitting in duels and capable of repeating numerous sprints against a team that left a lot of space at their back.
The match: Paris did the job in the first period
Mbaye was also the first to try his luck with a powerful strike deflected by Diego Diaz, (3rd), before Sangaré missed a duel against the Spanish goalkeeper (8th). After this failure, number 9 quickly moved on by signing a triple. First with a nice wrapped free kick (1-0, 18th), then by finishing an offering from Mbaye alone in front of the goal (2-0, 30th) and converting a penalty (3-0, 34th).
In the process, Atlético created a few opportunities but Axel Tape saved on his line (40th) before Pablo Pan missed the target from close range (42nd). Two opportunities which could have changed the appearance of the match but Camara worsened the score before the break with a new offering from Mbaye, well launched on his right side (4-0, 45th + 1).
Despite a good start to the second half by the Madrilenians, concluded by the reduction of Pan's score on a long shot (4-1, 49th), some cold sweats throughout the second act and a final goal conceded in the 88th, the victory was acquired. It allows Paris to put itself back in the race to qualify for the round of 16, almost unexpectedly given the first three matches. Now 23rd in the standings, the Parisians have two away matches against Bayern Munich and RB Salzburg to at least get a glimpse of the round of 16. The task will not be easy since the two teams are among the top eight in the competition.
The player: Mahamadou Sangaré
Regulars at PSG youth matches know him. The Parisian number 9 is a generous guy, never sparing in his efforts to propose solutions or press the opponent and efficient in front of goal. Author of 32 goals in 35 games last season, the native of Mali opened his goal counter during the last meeting against PSV Eindhoven (3-3, October 22) in the Youth League.
Against the Spaniards, Sangaré was simply involved in his team's four goals, first by opening the scoring with a masked free kick (18th) then by concluding the work of Ibrahim Mbaye (30th) and a penalty (34th) . It is also he who is the origin of Oumar Camara's fourth goal (45th + 1). Launched in depth again, he could have scored a quadruple but lost his duel against Diaz (53rd). But the striker, at the end of his contract at the end of the season, had already done the job before.
The number: 7
By winning for the first time in the Youth League this season, PSG moved up seven places in the standings. Now 23rd with 4 points, he still has his destiny in his hands but will travel during the last two days of the competition to Munich then Salzburg.
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