PLAYER RATINGS | PSG 2-0 Auxerre: Les Parisiens bounce back but lose Vitinha and Kvaratskhelia

A second-string Paris Saint-Germain bounced back from their defeat in Le Classique by fending off Auxerre on Saturday evening. The league leaders lost more key players to injury ahead of their trip to Barcelona, though, with both Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia having been withdrawn by half-time.

The match

Luis Enrique had few of his treble-winners at his disposal for Saturday evening’s reception of Auxerre, with only Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia making the starting eleven out of Paris Saint-Germain’s nine Ballon d’Or nominees this year. Les Parisiens’ injury crisis would thrust academy graduates Ibrahim Mbaye and Senny Mayulu into the line-up, while out-of-form midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery found himself filling in at right-back once again.

The hosts’ attacking trio would mostly struggle to pierce through Auxerre’s defence in the first half, with only Kvaratskhelia managing to run into open space with the ball (to little avail). It was Ukrainian centre-back Ilya Zabarnyi who would eventually break the deadlock, volleying in his first goal for the club from Vitinha’s ball to the back post.

The celebrations were somewhat short-lived, though, as the midfielder came off, ostensibly due to inury, only minutes later. To make matters worse, Kvaratskhelia would also be withdrawn at half-time, handing Luis Enrique a double injury blow four days before the match in Catalonia.

There were nevertheless a few positives to take for the champions after the break. Lucas Beraldo doubled the lead shortly after the restart, heading in a cross from Senny Mayulu from close range. The teenage midfielder would be replaced on the hour mark, making way for another academy graduate in 18-year-old Quentin Ndjantou to make his debut. Mathis Jangeal would also come on for his first senior appearance ten minutes from time.

While Ousmane Dembélé, Luis Enrique and the team as a whole were honoured for their awards at the Ballon d’Or ceremony after the match, untimely additions to the injury list will have made for a bittersweet night for PSG. Given their evidently misfiring second-choice attack (Gonçalo Ramos in particular struggled to make an impact tonight), Wednesday night’s clash at Montjuïc will be an uphill battle for Les Parisiens.

PSG player ratings

Lucas Chevalier, 6

Warren Zaïre-Emery, 5 – Was moved into midfield after the half-hour mark once Achraf Hakimi was brought on for Vitinha.

Ilya Zabarnyi, 7

Lucas Beraldo, 7

Lucas Hernández, 6

Kang-in Lee, 4

Vitinha, n/a – The Portuguese midfielder assisted Zabarnyi’s opener, but ostensibly picked up an injury in the process. He was replaced a few minutes later by Achraf Hakimi.

Senny Mayulu, 5

Ibrahim Mbaye, 4

Gonçalo Ramos, 3 – The Portuguese striker had the opportunity to stake his claim for a spot in the first-choice lineup in the absence of most of PSG’s frontline, but was scarcely involved despite his team’s domination. His runs in the box did little to stretch a well-drilled Auxerre backline, and the few opportunities that did come his way were mostly wasted. He did help to keep the attacks ticking over when he dropped deeper.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, 5 – Started brightly with some incisive runs, before coming off with a thigh injury at half-time. Replaced by Bradley Barcola, who missed a one-on-one chance and was visibly not yet fully match fit.

Donovan Léon, 5

Kévin Danois, 6 – The 21-year-old was the most confident on the ball in the Auxerre team, and notably hit the post with an impressive effort from range at the start of the second half.

Danny Namaso, 5

Lassine Sinayoko, 3

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from the Parc des Princes, Paris

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