Paris Saint-Germain has had a successful period in the last 24 hours with the signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli followed by a 2-1 away win at RC Lens, creating a provisional 10-point lead at the Ligue 1 summit. Ahead of Wednesday’s crucial UEFA Champions League test against Manchester City at the Parc des Princes, it was an ideal way to prepare for Luis Enrique’s Parisiens, who came from 1-0 down to win 2-1, with their new Georgian star making an immediate – albeit indirect – impact.
Bradley Barcola will battle with Kvaratskhelia for supremacy on the left wing, with one of the two potentially eventually shuffling into the false nine, which remains PSG’s preferred attack despite Goncalo Ramos’ return to fitness. The France international was able to immediately fire off his response to his new positional rival as the Crusaders international was unable to make his debut immediately following his move from Naples, which was made official late on Friday.
Barcola and his Paris teammates did not make it easy for themselves as M’Bala Nzola scored the opener from a corner to punish Luis Enrique’s side for not being tight enough defensively and only offside and a determined Gianluigi Donnarumma prevented him from making it 2- to make of. 0. The hosts’ inability to double their lead proved costly. Barcola’s first of two goals on Saturday came when he set up Fabian Ruiz for an equalizer on the hour mark, making for a very different final 30 minutes.
The former Olympique Lyonnais man struck an emphatic winner late on with his first goal in Ligue 1 since early November, along with his assist and midweek Coupe de France strike in the victory over minnows Espaly. Barcola suddenly has some form and momentum under their belt again after looking somewhat lost in recent months and the timing couldn’t be better for Luis Enrique, who now has another high-quality attacking element at his disposal.
“We are happy,” Barcola said after the match. “We started well, but after the goal we were a bit disappointed. We lost motivation around half time, so we are happy with the result. We know we worked very hard here to score those two goals. I am happy that I scored my goal.” However, there was no doubt. Now we will prepare well and work to be ready for City.”
“Kvaradona” won’t be available against City in the UCL next week, but his arrival has clearly shaken up the Frenchman enough to rekindle his early-season form, putting him alongside Jonathan David of Lille OSC and Mason Greenwood of Olympique de Marseille to the Ligue 1 charts. . Ousmane Dembele, who is not far behind the prolific trio with 10 own goals, did not make the trip to Lens as he was allowed to recover from his minor injury ahead of the clash with Pep Guardiola’s struggling English Premier League giants in the capital. next week.
Barcola stepping up in his compatriot’s absence, but also showing he has the hunger to welcome a challenge to a regular starting XI, bodes well for a decisive series of games for Les Parisiens against VfB Stuttgart in the last Champions League match of the competition phase. Kvaratskhelia will be available for PSG after the point, but the bigger question is whether Paris will still be represented in this year’s edition given their precarious current position, but Barcola are at least ready to be part of the effort to recover from that slow start on this basis. increase in shape.