Party evening at the Parc des Princes. After the historic qualification won by Luis Enrique’s men in Barcelona for the semi-finals of the Champions League, the residents of the Paris region took advantage of this 30th day of Ligue 1 and a shock against Olympique Lyonnais to pay tribute to their protégés. Celebrations ultimately accompanied by a recital on the Parisian lawn (4-1) allowing PSG to take another step towards the title. Organized in a hybrid 3-5-2, the reigning French champions left no chance to the Lyonnais, future opponents of the Rouge et Bleu in the Coupe de France final on May 25 in Lille. Without Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, preserved for this meeting, but with a sparkling Bradley Barcola for his reunion with his training club, PSG generally performed well. An offensive festival during which Gonçalo Ramos once again shone.
Present at the forefront of the Parisian attack alongside Randal Kolo Muani, the Portuguese international has, in fact, proven that he could be much more than a luxury joker in this collective. Absent against the Culers – Luis Enrique preferring to line up his trio Mbappé-Barcola-Dembélé for the big meetings – the native of Olhão finally responded in the best possible way. Always as valuable in his game with his back to goal and often found in passing circuits, the 22-year-old center forward distinguished himself above all by his permanent mobility. Involved defensively, authoritarian in the air, he finally did what he does best: score. Instilled with confidence by his teammates’ fantastic start to the match, the former Benfica scorer, ultimately voted man of the match by the FM editorial staff, also took part in his team’s offensive festival during the first act.
Ramos on the roof of Europe…
Receiving a perfect cross from Achraf Hakimi, the Parisian number 9, alone at the penalty spot, crucified Anthony Lopes with an unstoppable header (33rd). Far from being satisfied and with an above-average sense of goal, the in-form man from the Rouge et Bleu did it again a few moments later. On the lookout, he then perfectly cut a tight cross from Marco Asensio to bury the current 8th in Ligue 1 a little further. Author of his 10th goal in the league – seven goals in the last nine matches in L1 – the one who sees his contract running until June 2028 thus confirms its incredible start to the calendar year. The situation is simple: the Portuguese, who has entered the top 10 of L1 best scorers, is today the player with the best goal ratio in the five major championships among those with at least 10 goals in 2024 (1 goal every 73 minutes).
An efficiency logically praised by Luis Enrique, present at the press conference. “Gonçalo Ramos is a player with a time-to-goal ratio among the best in the League. It is very valuable for a coach to have 3 or 4 number 9s, to have all his options. Gonçalo is always where he should be, he defends, puts pressure on the defenders. I’m happy with him, he’s beneficial for the team.”, underlined the former coach of La Roja. Replaced by Kang-In Lee for the last minutes (81st) and acclaimed by the Parc des Princes, the staff and the Parisian players, the 1m85 right-hander once again won over everyone. Enough to claim a place in Luis Enrique’s starting lineup during the Champions League semi-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund (May 1)? Difficult to say at the time of writing these lines but one thing is certain, Gonçalo Ramos is doing everything to make Luis Enrique doubt.
