“It’s simple, sooner or later, we will have to learn to play without Kylian Mbappé”. Here is what Luis Enrique recently declared, aware that his number 7 should, barring a huge turnaround, leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season. From then on and to prepare for the future – a philosophy which did not fail to provoke a reaction from more than one observer – the former coach of La Roja no longer hides. Substitute for Nantes, replaced against Rennes then against Monaco, the captain of the Blues started once again on the Ile-de-France bench during the reception at Stade de Reims, Sunday at 1 p.m. (2-2). A choice made by the 53-year-old Spaniard, certainly convinced by the cloudy sky above the Parc des Princes… “Tomorrow, we will see depending on the sun and the weather, if the sun is hot or not”had in fact retorted the tactician of the Rouge et Bleu when asked if the 25-year-old Habs could, once again, get out of the eleven.
Ramos, second top Parisian scorer behind Mbappé!
Without the help of the top scorer in the French championship (21 goals), PSG hoped, in any case, to continue its series of 21 official matches without defeat. To do this, Luis Enrique – coach who makes the most changes in his starting XI from one Ligue 1 match to another (3.6 on average), among the 14 coaches who have been there since the start of the season – changed his plans again. Present on the bench, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ousmane Dembélé, Vitinha and therefore Kylian Mbappé respectively left their place to Keylor Navas, Kang-In Lee, Manuel Ugarte and Gonçalo Ramos. Established at the forefront of the 4-3-3, the 22-year-old Portuguese took the opportunity to score valuable points at the heart of this game of musical chairs. After already notable performances against Lille and Rennes, the former Benfica pyrotechnician confirmed that he could play the leading roles in this collective. Quickly found by his partners, the Olhão native showed his sense of purpose. If he initially lacked precision – or luck – PSG number 9 pushed Yunis Abdelhamid to make a mistake to put his team back in the match (1-1, 17th).
On his momentum and with an impeccable state of mind, the 1m85 right-hander gave his team the advantage straight away. On a cross from Lee, he took advantage of Atangana’s involuntary delivery to crucify Diouf at six meters (2-1, 19th) and score his 6th goal in L1, the 2nd best Parisian scorer behind Mbappé. More discreet thereafter and while PSG was, for its part, weighed down by its defensive wanderings – whether it was Hakimi on the opening score in Reims (0-1, 7th) or the questionable defensive alignment on the equalizer de Diakité (2-2, 45th) – the Portuguese international (10 caps, 7 goals) will nonetheless remain one of the best Parisians during this meeting. Credited with a 6 by the FM editorial team, Gonçalo Ramos has in any case proven that he could claim a happy future in the City of Lights. In true number 9 style, he constantly weighed on the Champagne defense. Valiant in recovery, determined in his pressing and sober in the game, the PSG finisher generally showed commitment at all times.
A pure style of 9!
The antipodes of the Mbappé style and taking advantage of a tactical system allowing him to highlight his qualities, Ramos then distinguished himself by his impact in the Reims area, where he touched a third of his balls (13 out of 30). Available to his partners and valuable in this role of fixation point, the one who totals 9 goals and 1 offering in 28 matches in all competitions (14 starts) has also shown great agility in his deliveries. With his back to the goal, he lost very few balls while being forgotten on many occasions to better score. Less influential in the construction of the game and not necessarily helped by the poor collective performance of PSG, Ramos is, on the other hand, not the player capable of making significant differences away from the opposing goal. His duel lost against Yunis Abdelhamid in the second half (63rd) reminded various observers that he did not have the speed of a KM7 or the devastating thrusts of an Ousmane Dembélé.
However, its effectiveness in the final meters represents a great reason for satisfaction. During his last 440 minutes played, the Portuguese scored a whopping six goals, or one goal every 73 minutes. An impressive ratio confirming all the abilities of the Ile-de-France center forward when he finds himself in an ideal position. Replaced shortly before the last quarter of an hour by the Bondynois, Ramos should certainly not upset, in the short term, the plans of Luis Enrique, today convinced by the Barcola-Mbappé-Dembélé trio, once again starting against Real Sociedad during the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League at Anoeta. However, if the Asturian opts so far for a system without a real professional number nine, the former Eagles scorer can legitimately claim a more important place within the Parisian collective in the months to come.
With the announced departure of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid at the end of the season, Ramos would indeed constitute a very good alternative at the forefront of the attack. To do this, the person concerned will have to continue at this pace until the end of the 2023-2024 financial year and hope that the summer transfer window will not (too much) blur their horizon in the French capital. “My decisions are clear, what I can say is that he is a top striker like Kolo Muani. I’m very happy with both, I hope they are the present and the future of the club. There will be times when they play less, like in all seasons., recalled, in this regard, Luis Enrique last January. Present in the mixed zone after the draw conceded against Reims, Danilo Pereira highlighted, for his part, the rise in power of his teammate, recently taking advantage of the rotation policy imposed by his coach. “It wasn’t easy for him, he didn’t play often, there’s a lot of competition in attack but when he plays he gives his all, now with goals it also gives him confidence”, noted the Parisian defender. Yes, for Gonçalo Ramos, the present is attractive and the future looks bright…
