2023-10-08 23:51:46
It is obviously too late for regrets or remorse, since the damage is done. But still, we can’t help but think that this PSG could have plugged a few additional holes and saved the furniture a little more on Wednesday on the Newcastle lawn with Vitinha in its ranks from the kick-off.
The 23-year-old Portuguese midfielder has not overnight become the player who will win matches for his team, nor the leader of this team, but he has the merit, at least, of bringing seriousness to it. guarantees of safety and discipline, which is already not bad for a training considerably outdated in these sectors a little earlier in the week in the north-east of England.
Balance and creativity
This Sunday, October 8 in the evening on the pitch at Stade Rennais, the former FC Porto midfielder demonstrated in any case that he could be an essential link in Luis Enrique’s system this season and that his status as a substitute against OM and Newcastle could seem unfair given his performance since August and what he can offer in this hybrid left winger position. “We have several ways of playing, and that’s important,” the Portuguese commented soberly after the match. We have a lot of solutions in the squad, it’s very good to have this quality of players and this variety of systems. »
Preferred to Randal Kolo Muani to occupy this off-center position which requires a lot of demands and rigor, Vitinha has also proven that he can bring his contribution in attack within an offensive animation that is more than sluggish and lacking in imagination .
The Portuguese international did not miss it, when he had to arm this superb curling shot with his right foot at the entrance to the area which allowed Paris to open the scoring and which nailed the beak of a Roazhon Park yet hot so far (32nd).
A demonstrative and liberating joy
His goal, the first of his season, came at the end of a classy collective action initiated by a backheel from Marquinhos near his own area. Usually rather reserved and not very exuberant, Vitinha expressed his happiness with demonstrative joy, saying everything about the feeling of liberation that inhabited him.
In this 4-3-3/4-2-4, the Portuguese brought this balance that PSG sometimes lacks when it comes to making efforts to recover the ball. In the offensive phase, he also brought this additional technical finesse to connect the midfield to the Parisian attack and to provide this dose of creativity which was sometimes lacking.
“I’m happy because Vitinha adapts perfectly to our idea of football,” explained the Spanish technician. He never loses the ball, he can dribble, he can make assists, he can score. He is a very complete player depending on the position of the ball on the pitch. He does what needs to be done. He is intense on defense. I’m very happy because he scored. I am happy with his level and that of the team. »
It was also necessary to see Luis Enrique gesticulating at the edge of the pitch and replacing his player to fully understand his capital role in the animation of the Spanish coach, who will surely have to rack his brains after the break to make room for his number 17. More fulfilled, Vitinha seems in any case to have had a first exercise mixing promising starts and irregular performances during which he often displayed a certain timidity which seemed very distant this Sunday.
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