It was the sensation of the start of the season in Paris. Despite the departure of Kylian Mbappé, the Parisians thought they had found their new offensive leader in the person of Bradley Barcola. Author of very interesting performances before the break, with four goals in the first three Ligue 1 matches including masterclasses against Montpellier and Le Havre, he had also shone against Italy with the tricolor jersey in the Nations League. A great start to the season that promised great things, but since then, he has struggled a little…
In the three games played since the return from the international break – against Brest, Girona and Reims – the winger trained at OL has not managed to be decisive. Beyond a non-existent stat line in these three games, he struggles enormously to create danger and does not weigh on rival defenses. Against Stade de Reims on Saturday, he only won 3 of the 10 duels played against opposing defenders.
Obvious difficulties
Against the Rémois, the player who received a score of 4/10 in our match notes lost 18 balls! Against Girona in midweek, he lost 11, compared to 17 against Brest last weekend. When asked about him, Luis Enrique logically chose to defend him: “How do I explain Barcola’s bad run? All my players fought, gave their all and after football it’s like that… Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I understand the criticism, but I remain satisfied with all my players”.
And inevitably, it is the entire offensive sector of PSG that suffers. With a Barcola less sharp in his dribbling, less impactful and less inspired around the rival surface, the Parisians have lost a real asset, knowing in addition to that that other players like Randal Kolo Muani are not particularly brilliant in these first matches of the season. And Luis Enrique is going to need a good Barcola with this frenetic schedule that is coming, with a duel against Rennes on Friday then a shock against Arsenal on Tuesday…
