This is one of the big shocks of this 3rd day of the Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain welcomes the Italian club AC Milan into its lair. If the offensive duel between the French Kylian Mbappé and the Portuguese Rafael Leão is already on everyone’s lips, this poster has other little stories, matches within the match, to use the famous sporting expression, since this meeting will not have the same flavor for two players in particular. They studied at Atlético de Madrid, are teammates in the French team and brothers within the same family but they will be, this Wednesday evening, adversaries on the lawn of the Parc des Princes: Lucas Hernández on one side and Théo Hernández on the other.
Indeed, for the first time in their career, the Hernández brothers will cross swords for the first time in their respective careers. The two international brothers of the French team have never been opponents in an official match while being starters. If the symbol will be above all personal, a strong sporting dimension is also added to this nice fraternal “rivalry” of one evening. Because the two Marseille brothers have gained ground in their respective clubs and are having a very interesting start to the season. The time has come, before this European shock, to take stock of Lucas’ first months in Paris and Théo’s confirmation in Milan:“When I saw that we were going to face each other, I called him straight. Playing against your brother in a Champions League match is incredible. This will be a strong moment in the family’s history. I’m going to ask the coach to put me on the right so I can face him (laughing)”said Lucas in an interview with Téléfoot.
Lucas, the strong return of defensive versatility
Recruited from Paris Saint-Germain for 40 million, during the last summer transfer window, Lucas Hernández packed his bags in the capital, not without a fierce response from the Collectif Ultras Paris who criticized his new defender for his Marseille origins and his positive comments on OM. But a few months after signing a five-season contract, he established himself as the best Parisian defender, despite playing exclusively on the left flank in his 10 appearances in all competitions: “When I arrived at PSG, I arrived as a central defender or left back. I have this versatility and the coach can count on me for each of the two positions. I am at the service of the team. I will play where the coach needs me. I have no problem with that. I will always be there and always present”declared the former Bayern player in the columns of The Team.
In Paris, if he imposed himself on Bayern in the central hinge, the number 27 of PSG was able to come back perfectly from a long injury, after a 9-month rehabilitation following his rupture of the cruciate ligaments contracted at the World Cup in Qatar with the Blues, during the match against Australia. But with this thunderous start to the season in the Parisian jersey, with this versatility in both positions, capable of adapting to Luis Enrique’s different systems, Lucas Hernández proves that the long injury has changed nothing in his status: “My arrival in Paris meant that I had this confidence, thanks to my teammates, the staff, the club. After a cruciate ligament rupture, you think a little more about the tackle, about putting your leg in or not. But I feel very good. And you can rest easy: the warrior Lucas Hernandez is still there”, continued Lucas in this same interview for the French newspaper. With this mentality, there is no doubt that the French international is ready to welcome Rafael Leão.
Théo, the accountability of the other captain
Since his arrival at Milan in the summer of 2019, Theo Hernandez has established himself as one of the best players in his position in the world but above all an essential part of Stefano Pioli’s group, to the point of having been named vice -Captain of the Rossoneri behind Davide Calabria, wearing the armband in January 2022 against AS Roma for the first time. An honor and pride for the Marseille native who also proves his impact in the group: “Being vice-captain of Milan is a great honor for me, I have been happy here since the first day, (Stefano) Pioli, (Paolo) Maldini and (Frederic) Massara have always helped me. What I dream of is to stay here as long as possible. And then, of course, we never know what the future has in store for us.”, declared the French full-back at the end of last season when he was officially named second captain of AC Milan. In Pioli’s 4-3-3 system or its variants in 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1, Théo Hernandez always plays a leading role, particularly offensively where he displays stats lines of 25 goals and 29 assists in 176 matches played with Milan.
This season, due to his new growing status, Theo Hernandez has nevertheless been singled out for his accumulation of yellow cards. The Frenchman received 5 yellow cards in just 7 matches played in Serie A. He is the most aware player in the entire Italian championship, which has already earned him a suspension in the poster against Juventus on Sunday (0-1) . The particularity lies in the ratio of Theo who has only committed 7 fouls in 7 league matches and on the last three occasions, he received a yellow card: Inter (tactical foul on Henrikh Mkhitaryan), Lazio (hard contact on Gustav Isaksen with virulent protest) and Genoa (avoidable tackle in midfield on Morten Frendrup). This is a defect that has already been revealed in the past and has not been fully corrected over time. In the Champions League, facing the PSG attack, this could be a problem…
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