PSG received the Stade de Reims on the 22nd day of Ligue 1. The Parisians, who remained on a convincing victory against Brest last weekend, presented themselves without Lionel Messi, on the bench, but with Sergio Ramos holder in central defence. In a rather boring or even disappointing first period, only Kylian Mbappé managed to hold his own. The Bondynois did not go far from opening the scoring twice (2nd, 32nd). But the opener ended up coming from a man we weren’t expecting. On a high Parisian recovery, it was Marco Verratti who took over with a dry shot from the left which hit the post before returning (1-0, 44th).
In the second half, the Rémois tried to shake up a not particularly impressive Parisian team. The young Ekitike, often lonely in front, tried to play some shots alone, like his teammate Lopy (57th). But a few minutes later, Paris made the break thanks to … Sergio Ramos. The Spanish defender, for his first tenure at the Parc des Princes, scored a goal in two stages full of determination (2-0, 62nd). After this goal, Reims clearly dropped in intensity and the Parisians took advantage of it to gain momentum. And on the evening of the first, it was Verratti who scored twice (68th) which we could also grant to Faes who countered the ball before it ended up in the back of the net. Unlucky, the Belgian defender also countered the strike from Danilo who arrived in the skylight (4-0, 76th). With this great success, PSG consolidates its leading position. Reims fell to 14th place.
The ranking of scorers
The ranking of passers
Man of the match: Verratti (7.5): the “Little Owl” again released a very serious match, always clean technically, succeeding 88% of passes and touching 112 balls. He scored the opener with a goal on a rebound from the left, his first since May 6, 2017 in Ligue 1. He even thought he scored twice but his strike on the 3rd Parisian goal was blocked by two players remois. He will have been very valuable in keeping possession of the ball and his duo with Paredes worked very well. Replaced by Herrera (77e).
Paris Saint Germain
Navas (5,5) : the Costa Rican goalkeeper didn’t have much to do this evening but he did it well: his saves on shots outside the box (27th and 40th) or inside (57th) allowed the PSG to achieve a second consecutive clean sheet in Ligue 1. A quiet Sunday for the Parisian goalkeeper.
Kerher (5) : the replacement for Achraf Hakimi, who left for the CAN, was in difficulty on his side, especially in the first period. However, he showed desire as during his duel with Ekitike (45th), but lost too many balls (10). Offensively he will not have offered much, apart from this center which found no one (15th).
Marquinhos (6) : the Brazilian captain had a serious match against Reims, always clean both in the short game and in the long game, missing only three passes (out of 84). He will never have been really put in difficulty and did not need to surpass himself this evening to achieve a very good performance this evening.
Ramos (6,5) : the former Madrid player started at the Parc des Princes for the first time this season. He made a serious copy, putting intensity in the contacts like his return on Ekitike (28th) or his recovery in the central circle (37th). He offered beautiful crosses like the one for Kehrer (41st). Renowned for scoring goals, he scored his first in Parisian colors after fighting well on a header from Danilo, sent back into the area by Lopy (62nd).
Mendes (6) : the young Parisian side continued with a very serious performance on his left side. Rarely overwhelmed, he often framed his opposing winger well. He made a very good comeback on Ekitike (70th). Offensively, he started well with his center after having erased a Rémois well along the line (4th). He will have been very clean in his transmissions and is the author of a beautiful cross for the offside goal of Icardi.
Walls (7) : the Argentinian midfielder started at the low end of the Parisian midfield but often positioned himself between the two centrals. He recovered some interesting balls like the one bringing Mbappé’s counterattack. He attempted a recovery very early in the match (4th). He was very clean in all his passes (96% success) and touched the ball a lot (143 balls hit). A very big game from the ancient Roman.
Pereira (6) : the Parisian number 15 had a decent match. Not always technically correct, he missed a few simple passes and lost a few balls leading to dangerous actions (57th). However, he almost scored two headed goals after corners from Di Maria (23rd and 62nd), the second bringing the goal from Ramos. He ended up scoring with a blocked shot on a pass from Mbappé (75th).
Verratti (7.5): see above
Di Maria (6): the Argentinian has often hampered the Rémois in his positioning between the lines, but he will have generally lacked accuracy, as at the start of the match during his missed center-shot (6th), or his shot outside the area not on target ( 14th). Replaced in the axis after not having succeeded in eliminating his vis-à-vis on the side, he will however have taken a few good corners. He is replaced by his selection partner, Messi (62nd) who delivered what he believed to be an assist for Marco Verratti’s second goal, eventually granted to Faes against his side.
Mbappe (6): the Parisian number 7 had a good match, even if he was not successful against the goal. He tried a lot in the first period as with his shot outside the area off target (1st), shot on target after the counterattack (32nd), or his ball wrapped off target (33rd). He serves Di Maria (22nd) and Icardi (70th) well but the two Argentines do not worry the opposing defense. He hurt on his side, in particular his very good acceleration and his decisive past for Danilo. Replaced by Draxler (77e).
Icardi (3): the Argentinian center-forward, as usual, will not have been to his advantage. After only touching 9 balls in the first half, creating no chances, he returned from the locker room with the same intentions. 14 balls touched and not much good to come out of it, like when he badly controlled and did not hit (49th), or when he made a bad choice after the long pass from Paredes (50th). He took too long to hit (51st), and missed his face to face (69th). He even scored a goal with his hand on a magnificent cross from Nuno Mendes (87th).
Reims Stadium
Rajkovic (5) : the Serbian goalkeeper was decisive in his duels against Mbappé from the start of the match (2nd, 34th) and could not do anything on the recovery well placed by Verratti (44th). In the second half he made some interesting outings to keep Reims in the game but was motionless on both goals, both blocked and lodged in his left corner. His four saves only allowed him to delay the deadline.
Foket (4.5): often called upon by Parisian attackers, the Belgian right defender was rather clean with the ball, always fair in his passes on his right flank. It was defensively that he had a little more trouble, often backing down to avoid getting caught up in speed by Mbappé. He came off at the break by Cassama (4), which also took on water on the right lane in a second act largely dominated by PSG.
Gravel (5) : like his friends in the central hinge at 3, the former Inter Milan man struggled as best as possible to contain the opposing offensive sector, without any real success. He nevertheless managed to counter the shots of Di Maria (23rd, 44th) and get back at the feet of Verratti (51st) and Draxler (90th + 1), but misses against Mbappé on the fourth goal of the capital club .
Field (4): the Belgian central defender showed commitment at the start of the match, sometimes a little, brushing the referee’s warning after two faults in his camp. Over the course of the meeting, he retreated a little more in the defensive line to come and cut the many Parisian centers for Icardi. He found himself unhappy on Verratti’s strike which he countered at the last moment.
Abdelhamid (5.5): sometimes higher than his friends in defense, the Moroccan international had the mission to anticipate Parisian transmissions at the entrance to the surface (4 interceptions). His physical power helped him dominate his opponents on the ground and in the air (5 duels won out of 5) in order to keep the danger away from his own zone of truth. He was happy on Icardi’s disallowed goal, which he scored at the far post (86th).
Spark Plug (5) : for his first tenure in Ligue 1 in his new colors, the other Belgian side of this Reims formation did not disassemble against Mbappé, even allowing himself to project himself into his corridor to trap the Parisian defense (2 key passes) , but his teammates did not convert their last gestures.
Locko (4) : on the left of the midfield, the player trained at the club did not know how to be interesting in the Reims game, despite the many possession sequences of the Champenois, especially in the first period. His influence in the game was sometimes interesting offensively, trying his luck on goal (28th), but nothing left behind…
Matusiwa (5.5): perhaps the best Rémois in the first period. In the axis of the Reims midfielder, the Dutchman was important in the circulation of the ball during Reims possessions (88% of successful passes) and always trying to find his offensive teammates behind the defense (6 deep passes ). Replaced at halftime by Lopy, which is itself replaced by Flips (82e).
Csetting (4) : the new SdR recruit had a complicated second start in the league. The 22-year-old midfielder did not know how to be unpredictable against the opposing midfielder and was content to step back to participate in the construction of the game (86% of successful passes) but without making a risky pass to put the danger in defense (0 key passes). Replaced by Given (64th).
Book (4): in support of Etikite, the young attacking midfielder was much less prominent offensively than his colleague. Despite a few runs with the ball to go up the Reims block, the number 11 never managed to make a difference in the opposing camp (0 key passes) or in the duels in the midfield (0 won out of 3). Replaced by Adeline (58th).
Ekitike (5): if he did not touch many balls, the 19-year-old striker was able to worry Navas on several occasions, finding himself in front of goal to try to deceive the Costa Rican goalkeeper (35th, 41st) before being almost invisible in the second half, forced to run behind the ball controlled by the Parisians.
