UEFA Champions League, Gameweek 2, 14/09/22
Maccabi Haifa – 1
Josh Cohen – 7
Pierre Cornud – 6
Dylan Batubinsika – 7
Sean Goldberg – 6
Daniel Sundgren – 7
Mohammad Abu Fani – 6
Neta Lavi – 5
Tjaronn Chery – 7
Dolev Haziza – 8 – He was central to Maccabi’s impressive first-half showing. He broke up play well and was intelligent in the transitions, picking out the right passes with the perfect execution to harm PSG, who were too open. His delivery for Chery’s opener was inch perfect. His influence waned in the second period as PSG assumed the ascendency, but his overall game was impressive.
Frantzdy Pierrot – 6
Omer Atzili – 6
Others: Seck (4), David (4), Tchibota (N/A), Rukavystya (N/A)
PSG – 3
Gianluigi Donnarumma – 5 – A couple of errors with the ball at his feet again. It isn’t his first this season, and his error against Real Madrid last season still lingers in the memory. He’s a brilliant shot-stopper and could do nothing about Chery’s opener, but there are still questions about his overall game.
Danilo Pereira – 5
Marquinhos – 4
Sergio Ramos – 5
Nuno Mendes – 6
Vitinha – 8 – The Portuguese midfielder already looks completely at the home at the centre of PSG’s midfield. A metronomic force, he perfectly compliments Verratti, who accompanies him in the midfield pivot. He excelled in tight spaces, drew fouls, took players on and cut through Maccabi with incisive passing. Even when PSG had their backs up against the wall, he was a reassuring figure of calmness and composure, whilst other, more experienced players around him floundered.
Marco Verratti – 6
Nordi Mukiele – 7
Neymar – 5 – Despite a few bright moments, notably a meandering dribble in the second-half, his more negative traits were on full display. He often struggled with the basics, and he let his frustration show, but more detrimentally, impact upon his overall game, even with the score at 0-0. When he’s in such a mood, he exudes a feeling of crisis that certainly doesn’t help PSG’s overall game. However, just like Mbappé, he has the quality to produce moments of class, and having found himself in acres of space in the dying minutes, he made no mistake with a composed finish.
Lionel Messi – 9 – The only player of PSG’s ‘MNM’ to reach their level on the night. His finish to level the scores was instinctive, but his overall play was more impressive. He linked the play perfectly, showing a great range of passing and looking a class apart for large swathes of the tie. His assist for Mbappé in the second half was emblematic of a player that has at long last constructed the all essential automatisms that he relies upon to thrive.
Kylian Mbappé – 5 – Far from his best, but essentially decisive. The Frenchman set the tone of the match for the PSG. Put through 1v1 in the opening moments, he couldn’t slot past Cohen. He then had another glorious opportunity soon after but attempted to be too clever and couldn’t get his shot away. However, a player of his quality is always capable of making the difference and so it proved. His finish mid-way through the second half is more befitting of the player that we have come to know.
Others: Ruiz (5), Hakimi (N/A), Soler (N/A)
GFFN
