Paris Saint-Germain’s season has sputtered in recent weeks, especially in the UEFA Champions League. If the competition ended today, PSG would not advance and would be out of European competition for the remainder of the season. In Ligue 1, PSG sit atop the table but a similar theme has presented itself in both competitions, and that is PSG’s struggle to score goals.
In the Champions League, PSG has played five matches and has only managed to score two goals, with a third coming via an own-goal. You can visit the best online betting sites if you think PSG can advance to the knockout stage, but the fact remains that if the goals don’t start coming, the team will crash out earlier than anyone thought.
Luis Enrique has shown that he prefers Bradley Barcola on the left wing, Ousmane Dembélé on the right, and Marco Asensio as the false nine. Kang-In Lee has his moments in the attack as well, but with the same results. Now, the reason for the false nine can be attributed to the ankle injury to Gonçalo Ramos last August. He was able to make an appearance recently against FC Bayern Munich, which PSG lost 1-0, but he is probably a couple of matches away from being a match-fit.
Randal Kolo Muani has frustratingly been left on the bench. He has certainly had his head-scratching moments, but many fans, including myself, question why Luis Enrique would keep going to the false nine that doesn’t work instead of giving more minutes to Kolo Muani.
If the manager doesn’t rate Kolo Muani, and is prepared to move on from Asensio and Lee as a false nine, the answer could be 19-year-old Désiré Doué. The Frenchman arrived last summer from Stade Rennais in a much-reported transfer saga between PSG and Bayern Munich. However, Doué has barely featured for PSG this season and has recorded a single assist in nine Ligue 1 appearances.
Doué is an incredibly talented player with a lot of flair and creativity. He’s also very versatile, capable of playing on the wing or centrally. If Luis Enrique is married to the false nine, why not try Doué in that position? If Dembélé continues to waste chances in front of goal, give Doué an opportunity to shine on the big Champions League stage.
Luis Enrique recently benched the underperforming Gianluigi Donnarumma for Matvey Safonov, a summer signing in which PSG paid a €20 million transfer fee. Why not do the same for attacking players who aren’t getting the job done? PSG paid a transfer fee of €50 million for Doué, and he deserves more opportunities, especially with PSG struggling so mightily in front of goal.
