This Saturday evening, Luis Enrique’s men overthrew Strasbourg (3-1) after being behind for a long time. We had to wait for several starters to come into play in the second half to see the Parisians truly take control of the match and score three goals. A success finally achieved despite an end to the match fought ten against eleven, after the exit due to injury of Nuno Mendes in the 86th minute. Hit in a thigh, the Portuguese full-back left his partners a few moments after the second Parisian goal, scored by Ousmane Dembélé. “He felt a little thing, we decided not to take any risks. I don’t know if you can call it an injury, but we decided to play with one less player.”explained Luis Enrique after the meeting. A prudent decision, but which is already raising many concerns a few days before the clash against FC Barcelona in the Champions League.
Because if the seriousness of Nuno Mendes’ physical problem remains to be determined, his possible absence could considerably complicate PSG’s plans. And for good reason, his replacement Lucas Digne still does not convince. Established against Strasbourg, the former Aston Villa player still showed certain defensive limits, notably on the Alsatian opener. A performance that is worrying since he does not seem to be capable, for the moment, of being a reliable understudy for Nuno Mendes. “The “natural” replacement for Nuno Mendes, Lucas Digne, once again displayed occasional excitement, beyond his uncertain closing of the space on the Alsatian opener. During the last World Cup, he was tormented like never before in the semi-finals against Spain (0-2, July 14) by Lamine Yamal who had himself been dominated as rarely by Nuno Mendes in the round of 16 (1-0 for La Roja against the Seleçao). Without the Portuguese, it wouldn’t really be plan A for Paris on Tuesday”explains the newspaper L’Equipe in its columns this Sunday morning. An analysis which perfectly sums up Parisian fears: having to face Lamine Yamal, in great form, without one of the rare defenders capable of containing him.
Lucas Digne not at the level?
On RMC, same story. After Foot columnist Walid Acherchour also pointed out Lucas Digne’s difficulties, even believing that his level of performance had indirectly contributed to the current situation. “If Nuno Mendes enters this match, it is because Lucas Digne is not up to the level. He had to arrive for this type of mission and to preserve Nuno Mendes post-Champions League. And Nuno Mendes comes in and so behind, he gets injured, he gets in trouble and you have to be careful and get him out very quickly”regretted the columnist. An outing which confirms the subject of recent weeks: the usefulness of recruiting the French full-back. Because Digne was precisely supposed to offer a reliable solution to Luis Enrique to allow Nuno Mendes to breathe between the big deadlines. But against Strasbourg, the Spanish coach was finally forced to call on his usual starter to turn the situation around. With the consequences that we now know.
Lucas Digne’s difficulties do not date from this meeting. At the start of the season, Luis Enrique had already sent a strong message to his defender by excluding him from the group for a match. The Spanish technician then criticized him for having too quickly accepted his status as an understudy, without displaying the competitiveness expected to shake up the hierarchy. Since then, the French international has found his place in the rotation and has assured on several occasions that he is feeling better and better physically and sportingly. But his performances are still struggling to confirm this rise in power. And a few days before a particularly anticipated European meeting, this inevitably raises questions…
