Dedicated, combat, decisive, impeccable, collective … At the end of the first round won (1-0) by Paris Saint-Germain, Tuesday evening, on the lawn of the Emirates Stadium, the qualifiers are numerous to summarize the performance of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Aligned on the Front of the Parisian attack, alongside Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, the Georgian has whatever it is proven all its importance in the eleven led by Luis Enrique. Quickly attractive when he arrived in the French capital (4 goals and 5 assists in all competitions), the former Napoli player remained in recent weeks more contrasted in the Ile -de -France jersey.
A decisive pass, a forgotten penalty?
Less successful on the outskirts of opposing surfaces and not yet completely connected to his new teammates, the native of Tiflis finally took advantage of this trip to London to provide the most beautiful responses. Shimmer on the left side after three short minutes of play, the Georgian international (41 selections, 18 goals) announced the color to Jurrien Timber by serving perfectly Ousmane Dembélé for the opening of the Parisian score. A first flash followed by numerous percussion, constantly putting in difficulty the Dutch side, at fault many times but ultimately out of it miraculously without yellow card.
With confidence, Kvara, who will have regularly interchangeed with Désiré Doué to disturb the London rearguard, will remain generally one of the great craftsmen of the first sparkling half hour of the Parisians on the side of the Emirates Stadium. However, it would be dishonest to reduce the performance of the Ile -de -France winger – very close to obtaining a penalty on a belt of … Timber and to make the break without the decisive intervention of David Raya (26th) – to his only offensive contribution. And for good reason. Faced with the rise in power of the Gunners, the one who sees his contract running until 2029 above all showed a rare selflessness and a sense of foolproof sacrifice (which has not always been the case with the flocked jerseys of a 7 in the French capital). With countless defensive folds to come and help Nuno Mendes in his duel against Bukayo Saka, he finally allowed his family to keep this short but precious advantage before the return match to the Parc des Princes.
Precious defensive aid
A key role that has not escaped Luis Enrique, deciding to leave his protégé to the final whistle when Ousmane Dembélé, injured, and desired gifted, blunt, yielded their place to Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos respectively. “We have done great individual and collective work. There was a great defensive work of the attackers, offensive of the fields of field. A defensive work of all. Arsenal is so strong, you cannot calculate or manage. We gave everything in front of players like Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard, which must be monitored permanently ”noted the Spanish technician at a press conference, preferring “Underline the work of 14 or 15 players”.
Credited by a 7 by the FM editorial staff, the neo-Paris can, anyway, leave London with the feeling of accomplished duty. Decisive passer, the Georgian thus concluded his high -flying performance with 8 won duels, 7 recovered balloons (the highest total of the evening), 2 interceptions, 60% of successful tackles and a significant technical accuracy in his transmissions. A perfect copy finally symbolizing the attractive collective service of the French champions in the lair of the Gunners. It is now up to Kvaratskhelia and his teammates to reiterate such a performance, next Wednesday at the Parc des Princes, to continue the dream of a whole club, namely to win for the first time in its most prestigious history of European competitions …
