Paris Saint-Germain continued their winning ways this afternoon after beating Olympique Lyonnais in the Parc des Princes to reach the Coupe de France quarterfinals, where they’ll face AS Saint-Etienne. Despite the 3-0 final score, the contest was a lot less comfortable in reality. Here is my “Good & Bad” from PSG’s home win over Les Gones:
The Good
Lucas Moura
Lucas has become a pivotal part of Laurent Blanc’s preferred 4-3-3 after replacing the out of favor Edinson Cavani and today was no different. The tricky winger got himself an assist in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first goal of the night and played a great ball in the build up to Ibra’s second. Lucas continued his stellar form and even though many Parisian fans, including myself, would’ve been delighted with him getting a goal for himself (he hit the post in the 81st minute), it’s clear the Brazilian has established himself in Blanc’s starting XI.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The talismanic striker has been in scintillating form lately. According to ligue1.com, Ibrahimovic averages a goal every 78 minutes for PSG this year and it seemed fitting that against Lyon, who up until half-time had defended brilliantly against an uninspired Cavani, he should be the one to break the deadlock. The Swede once again improvised to meet a cross from Lucas and direct the ball into the back of the net with his chest. In the 67th minute Zlatan would get his second goal from yet another cross, this time from Serge Aurier. This type of goal shows how even at 34-years-old, Zlatan is still a magnificent target striker.
The Bad
Thiago Motta
The Brazil born Italian hasn’t been what fans were expecting when he signed a contract extension in the summer. He has been inconsistent at best and seems to only play well when connected with his pitch soul-mate Marco Verratti. His performances of late haven’t been that bad either but I’d really like to see Adrien Rabiot play Motta’s role more so that when the 33-year-old departs the young Frenchman is ready to step up in his place.
Edinson Cavani
Things haven’t been going well for the Uruguay international at all. First, his dip in form relegated him to the bench, then, because of his poor attitude, he has fallen out of favor with the manager, and finally, he simply hasn’t taken advantage when he does start. Cavani has shown flashes of what he’s capable of—the goal against Lorient for example—but he has to be regretting the fact that he hasn’t done better when given the opportunity. At this point, you have to say the former Napoli man has not done enough to earn a spot in the starting XI for next week’s clash with Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League.
