Brilliant and decisive in Ligue 1, Bradley Barcola is struggling to convince on the European scene with PSG. The 22-year-old striker, who has not yet scored this season in the Champions League, will be particularly expected during the clash against Bayern Munich, this Tuesday at the Allianz Arena (9 p.m.).
Bradley Barcola alone illustrates PSG's contrasting start to the season. Irresistible in Ligue 1, the 22-year-old striker makes a series of convincing outings and decisive gestures across the four corners of France. While the capital club is hovering over the championship after twelve days (ten wins, two draws), the native of Lyon is at the top of the scorers' ranking with ten goals, ahead of Marseille's Mason Greenwood (eight) and Lille's Jonathan David (seven). But the picture is much less rosy on the European scene. Like the Parisians' failed start to the campaign, Bradley Barcola fails to make an impact in the Champions League.
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Starting every match, the man who took Kylian Mbappé's place on the left wing has not yet scored since the start of the competition. Despite the confidence gained in L1, the No. 29 of PSG remained silent during the last-minute victory in front of Girona (1-0). Ditto during the draw against PSV Eindhoven (1-1) and during the defeats at Arsenal (2-0) and against Atlético de Madrid (1-2). In total, the former OL hopeful, recruited in August 2023 for 45 million euros, spent 324 minutes on the pitch without finding the fault in C1.
“Barcola is known now, it must reinvent itself”
Beyond the statistics, the performances of the French international (11 caps, 2 goals) raise questions. Incapable of making any difference in his lane, Barcola lacks the enthusiasm and inspiration to create danger. “In the Champions League, there is a real blockage. There is a ceiling for the moment,” observed Walid Acherchour on November 9 in After Foot on RMC. “But we will have to help him on the pitch, with associations. I find that Nuno Mendes very rarely goes up and the player placed in false number 9 rarely comes into his zone to try to combine or create false leads. So Barcola is a little left to himself. He has his back which is starting to be read by everyone and he is struggling to have variety. In Ligue 1, there is such collective strength at PSG. which knocks out the opponent that Barcola has lots of spots to score, but in the Champions League, that’s less the case.”
His adversaries, who have identified him as the main threat, are also pressing closer to limit his field of action. “In the Champions League, he is much better defended. Against Atlético, Molina hurt him very badly, Simeone came to help him. There was always a two-hander on Barcola,” noted Damien Parquis, also member of After Foot, after the defeat against the Colchoneros. “As he is known now, he must reinvent himself. By sometimes letting go of the ball, perhaps by getting a little more on his right foot or by going to make differences one-on-one but towards the inside. For that , there must be movement around him, a central attacker who dives or one of the relay players who can project himself into the penalty area to allow him to create space.”
Only one goal in the Champions League since his arrival at PSG
Last season, Bradley Barcola scored one goal in ten appearances in the Champions League, including five as a starter (475 minutes in total). It was against Real Sociedad, on February 14 at the Parc des Princes, in the round of 16 first leg (2-0). Since then, he has not found the net in the premier competition. Enough to raise certain doubts at a time when PSG, twenty-fifth in the ranking (and virtually eliminated) is preparing to challenge Bayern Munich, this Tuesday at the Allianz Arena (9 p.m.). With the hope of striking a big blow to stay in the race for the play-offs, failing to dream of a direct qualification in the round of 16.
“Nothing has changed at Barcola”, said on RMC Daniel Riolo, who nicknamed him 'Bambi', after the setback against Atlético. “Good in Ligue 1, he still has everything to show in the Champions League. In one year, what I saw was the newspaper headlines: 'He has already replaced Mbappé', 'It's the news star of PSG'… We are completely off the mark.” We'll see if Bradley Barcola's performance in Bavaria will reassure the most skeptical or continue to fuel debate in the weeks to come…
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