Player Ratings: PSG Sends Lyon to the Bottom of Ligue 1 Table With Stellar Performance
Discover more from PSG Talk Extra Time
Player Ratings: PSG Sends Lyon to the Bottom of Ligue 1 Table With Stellar Performance
Paris Saint-Germain overpowered Lyon and maintained their unbeaten run to open the Ligue 1 season.
Paris Saint-Germain heads into the international break about as well as a team could. They’re undefeated to start the Ligue 1 season with back-to-back wins over RC Lens and Olympique Lyonnais.
The 4-1 victory at the Groupama Stadium on Sunday was against a Lyon side that is bottom of the table and on the verge of sacking Laurent Blanc, but that shouldn’t take away from the incredible performance from PSG.
Luis Enrique’s squad put four goals past Anthony Lopes before halftime, and overall, the style of play was an escape from the painfully slow, uninspired play supporters had to watch under Mauricio Pochettino and Christophe Galtier.
Perhaps the best news is that while PSG’s performance against Lyon was promising, the starting XI could be improved. Randal Kolo Muani arrived on transfer deadline day and will undoubtedly slot into the attack. Nuno Mendes is one of the best left-backs in Europe and will be returning from injury soon enough.
Before we get too far ahead, let’s look back at the win over Lyon and hand out some player ratings.
Player Ratings
1 is the lowest score possible and indicates an extremely poor performance, and 10 is the highest score possible and indicates a world-class, game-changing performance.
Gianluigi Donnarumma - 7
Not only was this Gianluigi Donnarumma’s best performance of the early season, it might be his best performance in a PSG shirt. He faced eight total shots on goal and made six diving saves. It would be on PSG’s fourth goal if there's a criticism. Luis Enrique was animated on the sideline because the Italy international did not place the ball on the ground to pass out from the back to begin PSG’s attack. Playing with the ball at his feet is Donnarumma’s weakness, and he’ll need to improve as the season progresses.
Achraf Hakimi - 6
A big improvement from Achraf Hakimi compared to his previous performances this season. While not perfect, Hakimi did get on the scoresheet to put PSG up 2-0 over Lyon. It was a scrappy goal, but he was in the right place at the right time. Truth be told, Hakimi should have had a second goal after a brilliant counter-attack but his wide-open shot hit the crossbar.
Marquinhos - 6
Marquinhos had one of his better performances of the season. He recorded three blocks and five clearances and won four duels. The back line still isn’t functioning as a cohesive unit yet, but this is a promising turnaround for Marquinhos.
Milan Škriniar - 5
It was a pretty average performance from Milan Škriniar compared to what we’re used to. He didn’t have as many defensive actions as Marquinhos, but he didn’t stand out as a liability either, despite losing three duels and only recording two clearances.
Lucas Hernández - 5
Not an amazing defensive performance from Lucas Hernández, but he got forward, recorded 12 passes into the final third, and created one scoring chance. He also picked up his first yellow card as a member of PSG.
Warren Zaïre-Emery - 4
While there was a lot to like about PSG’s performance, if there was one disappointment, it was Warren Zaïre-Emery. He didn’t create scoring chances and only had six passes into the final third. Defensively, he didn’t win any tackles, lost six duels, and only had one interception. Perhaps worse of all, it was his clumsy challenge in the box that resulted in a penalty and Lyon’s lone goal.
Manuel Ugarte - 8
Manuel Ugarte showed us a part of his game that PSG fans haven’t seen, and that was his slick passing ability as he picked out Marco Asensio for PSG’s third goal of the night. Defensively, Ugarte was solid as always, with 53 touches and five ground duels won. His workrate led to PSG’s first goal when he stole the ball off a Lyon player and was brought down in the box for a penalty.
Vitinha - 6
Vitinha did some good things against Lyon. He created a couple of scoring chances, and had 91 touches, and seven passes into the final third, but he needs to work on his shooting accuracy and making the right pass. There were more goals to be had against Lyon, but for all the good that Vitinha does in the build-up, he comes up short in front of goal.
Ousmane Dembélé - 7
Ousmane Dembélé is instant offense, with three scoring chances created against Lyon, but like Vitinha, he needs to work on his shot accuracy. He’s made three appearances for PSG this season, and he really should have his first goal by now if he could put the ball on frame.
Marco Asensio - 8
Who predicted Marco Asensio being one of PSG’s best players to start the season? The former Real Madrid man followed up his one-goal performance against Lens with a goal and an assist against Lyon. Asensio scored off that great pass from Ugarte, and then returned the favor with a brilliant ball to Kylian Mbappé for his second goal of the night. He’s been so good, in fact, that I’m sure Luis Enrique is busy trying to figure out a way to keep him on the pitch with Randal Kolo Muani coming into the squad after the break.
Kylian Mbappé - 9
Since he’s come back into the squad after missing the opener against FC Lorient, Kylian Mbappé has scored five goals in three games, including two against Lyon. His first on the night was a penalty, but his second was beautiful as Asensio played a brilliant ball, and the Frenchman never had to break his stride. Overall, Mbappé created four scoring chances and played six passes into the final third.
Substitutes
Bradley Barcola - 5
Bradley Barcola returned to his former club and was booed and whistled at during warmups and when he touched the ball. He didn’t have much time on the pitch to show why PSG signed him, but we saw some of his speed and passing ability on display.
Gonçalo Ramos - 5
Gonçalo Ramos came on for 15 minutes, and with PSG having a three-goal lead, we didn’t get to see the best of him. He did create a scoring chance, but not much of anything else. I still rate Ramos highly, but with Kolo Muani coming into the team, and Asensio in form, it will be hard to find minutes for the former Benfica striker.
Fabián Ruiz - 5
Fabián Ruiz came on late in the second half and recorded an impressive 100% passing accuracy. He's a solid option off the bench and contributed to professionally seeing the game out as PSG held a substantial lead. I don’t anticipate Ruiz starting many matches this season, but he’s clearly capable of contributing in a limited capacity.
Cher Ndour - NA
Played less than 10 minutes.