“I feel good, I love this club, the fans, the team, the staff. Everyone is trying to help me. My mission is to do my best for the team”. Here is what Illia Zabarnyi said, a few minutes after his team’s victory against OGC Nice during the 11th day of Ligue 1. Arriving from Bournemouth against a check for 70 million euros during the last summer transfer window, the 23-year-old Ukrainian defender is, however, struggling to convince. Heavy on the field, not very reassuring in his restarts and often suffering against more lively opponents – like his duel with Joaquin Panichelli during the draw conceded against Strasbourg (3-3) – the native of kyiv is clearly not unanimous.
Back on the pitch, Sunday evening, after his suspension against Bayern Munich – a direct consequence of his red card received against Bayer Leverkusen at the end of another cataclysmic performance – the former Cherries resident has, unfortunately, once again given his detractors food for thought. Despite a generally controlled start to the match against the Lyon attackers, the 1m89 right-hander then confirmed all his difficulties. Very close to conceding a penalty by inexplicably letting his hand trail in the air, he immediately covered the deep shot from Ainsley Maitland-Niles, author of the equalizing goal (50th). In addition to this culpable error, the new number 6 of the reigning European champions, who was certainly not playing in his usual position, will have especially struggled in the face of the liveliness of Afonso Moreira and his restarts seemed to be dictated by a generator of random decisions.
Luis Enrique points out the wanderings of his defense
Present at a press conference after the match, Luis Enrique – questioned about Lucas Chevalier’s new failed outing – preferred to point the finger at the performance of his defense. “The error did not come from the goalkeeper. These are the players who form the last defensive line. They have to run behind if necessary. You can’t advance the line if there is no pressure on the carrier. We talked about this situation at halftime. And we conceded the second goal again like this. These individual errors must be corrected”confided the Spanish technician at the final whistle. Credited with a 3 by the FM editorial team, Zabarnyi today has the art of transforming each intervention into breathtaking suspense. A feeling shared by many observers.
“Another complicated evening for the Ukrainian, who covers Maitland-Niles with the 2-2 goal (50th). He manages to do well in the clinches but as soon as his opponent has space or finds depth, it is more difficult.added, in this regard, our colleagues from The Teamalso giving it a score of 3. “After his suspension against Bayern, this match against a team without an attack was ideal to regain confidence. It will be necessary to iron. Even if he didn’t take any risks, he managed to put his team in danger with poorly timed passes. Like most of his companions in defense, he was sometimes too wait-and-see regarding Lyon’s rare desires.analyzed, for his part, The Parisianmore generous with a 4. In the tough, Illia Zabarnyi will now have to quickly find his bearings, at the risk of admiring the solidity of Willian Pacho from the substitutes’ bench…
