After an international break as eventful as ever, Paris Saint-Germain was back in action this Saturday evening with the reception of RC Strasbourg, on the lawn of the Parc des Princes as part of the 8th day. While the capital club suffered a setback in the Champions League against Arsenal and a draw against OGC Nice, Luis Enrique’s troops had to react for this return of the championships. For this poster, the Spanish coach concocted a fairly unique starting eleven with in particular a central hinge Willian Pacho and Milan Škriniar, while we could also find Désiré Doué and the young Senny Mayulu thus articulated in the 4-3-3 Parisian. One thing is certain: the Parisian Titi scored valuable points in the rotation with an exceptional performance against the Alsatian club. It was the first time this season that Mayulu started a championship match, having already started three times last year.
At the end of last season, Luis Enrique had already given quite a few clues as to the future status that the native of Blanc-Mesnil would have this season. After solid summer preparation, Senny Mayulu officially joined the professional group after signing his first contract in May 2024: “Mayulu is one of the nice surprises. He can play inside, outside. When you look at the lower categories, for me he is a perfect player for my type of game. I am very happy that he continues at the club and that he wants to renew his contract here. I think he will be an important player in the future“, declared the Spanish coach at the time. The man who had only played 44 minutes in Ligue 1 this season before kick-off this Saturday evening was starting alongside Vitinha and João Neves to the delight of Parisian supporters.
Dangerous on every ball!
We didn’t have to wait long to see young Mayulu. In 18 minutes, the player trained at PSG had already shot four times on goal. On a good ball slipped by Vitinha at the entrance to the area, Senny Mayulu landed a powerful shot low to the ground which crashed into the left post of Đorđe Petrovic (12th). He even tried to take the leather immediately by surging with speed, but his second attempt was blocked. Some time later, it was Senny Mayulu who opened the scoring for PSG. After having shifted the ball well towards Barcola on the left side, the French international put it back perfectly behind the defense and the Parisian Titi found himself facing Đorđe Petrovic off-center on the left side. He armed a missile which lodged under the Strasbourg bar (18th, 1-0): “The coach trusted me to make me start. I’m happy, I’m grateful. Scoring is incredible, it’s a childhood dream. I try to continue to get playing time and continue to work every day. The coach will make his choices», declared the main person concerned at the microphone of DAZN. At 18 years and 155 days, Senny Mayulu became the 6th youngest scorer in the club’s history during the QSI period, after Warren Zaire Emery, Tanguy Kouassi, Yoram Zague, Timothée Pembélé and Adrien Rabiot.
A status that is certainly symbolic but which will allow him to gain a lot of confidence for his next outings. The 18-year-old almost scored a double after finding himself dead center 20m away from Petrovic face-to-face. But he sent the ball into the clouds after having taken all the time to adjust (42nd). Returning from the locker room, he came close to doubling the lead again by cutting Vitinha’s cross perfectly with a dive, but Petrovic made a reflex save (49th): “He could have scored three goals. Last year, he had the possibility of leaving for another club. I talked to him and told him I liked the way he played. I told him he was from here and that he should stay. He shows that he has a lot of potential, personality. He’s a good player in the box. I’m happy», rejoiced Luis Enrique at a press conference. On this Saturday, October 19, Senny Mayulu had all the makings of a great leader on the meadow of the Parc des Princes.
