At Paris Saint-Germain, Marquinhos has been playing regularly as a defensive midfielder for Thomas Tuchel. On Friday, the 25-year-old returned to his more natural center-back role for the Brazil national team but things didn’t go so great for him.
1-1 now. Sadio Mane sprints past Dani Alves and Marquinhos, and was eventually fouled in the box. Famara Diedhiou converts the penalty🤩. pic.twitter.com/slc2bALCIo
— @Leila🇸🇴-🇧🇪 (@Huda55910060) October 10, 2019
Right before halftime, Liverpool’s Sadio Mané sprinted past former PSG right-back Dani Alves and then nutmegged Marquinhos as he cut inside into the penalty box. Marquinhos caught him from behind and took him down. The official awarded the penalty and Famara Diédhiou converted to level the score at 1-1 where it would finish between Brazil and Senegal.
Just like any player in the NBA can be dunked on, any defender can be nutmegged. It’s something that has happened to every great defender including Mané’s teammate Virgil van Dijk.
As PSG supporters, we shouldn’t read too much into this except for the fact that it was probably the right decision to move on from Alves who clearly doesn’t have the pace to keep up with world-class attackers. Marquinhos will be fine whether he’s playing as a defensive midfielder or center-back. This was just a small moment where an excellent player in Mané got the best of him. Hopefully, the Brazilian will use this moment as a learning lesson in case PSG draw Liverpool in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League.
Marquinhos has been in excellent form for Paris Saint-Germain and the club is actively looking to extend his contract until 2024. Like Mané, Marquinhos is vital to his team’s success. Keeping him in the French capital longterm should absolutely be one of the club’s primary goals.
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.
