In this very special season for PSG, Luis Enrique can count on certain players of absolute reliability, men capable of maintaining a constant level of play, in all circumstances.
Within this Parisian collective which continues to search for itself, Vitinha remains a “safe guy”, a beacon in the night which sparkles continuously unlike others. This Wednesday evening again, the Portuguese midfielder showed why he had entered another category and that this change in dimension carried out under the orders of the Spanish coach was not just an epiphenomenon.
However, a big fight awaited him against a Newcastle team renowned for its toughness and physical power. Accustomed in the past to be more feverish and less conquering when he has to face this type of opposition which can put him in difficulty, the third in the last Ballon d’Or has proven that he is equipped to take on this type of challenge.
There was, of course, everything that we have seen for several months with Vitinha in his position of sentinel: this role of conductor, his incessant activity with the ball (more than 90% of successful passes), his technical facilities, like this good shift for Kvara (13th), his orientations, his accuracy in getting rid of the Magpies’ pressing. Without the ball, we saw him in a little more difficulty, even if he distinguished himself by several precise interventions in his part of the field (17th, 42nd, 80th).
His 25th goal with PSG
And then, there is now this new role of serial scorer in the Champions League. The Santo Tirso native got his team’s evening off to an ideal start by opening the scoring with a superb right-footed shot at the edge of the area (8th). The English had obviously not revised their files enough given the time left to number 17 who had plenty of time to feign the unfortunate Dan Burn and follow up with a delicious, unstoppable curled ball for Pope. A goal, his 25th with PSG; celebrated with his now iconic celebration of the headband rotating around his index finger… before his favorite object escaped him and was lost on the lawn of the Parc des Princes.
In a season where PSG once again displays a lack of realism in the last gesture and is looking for a real scorer, this season it can count on a Vitinha in goleador mode in the Champions League. With five goals already on the clock – a goal at Leverkusen, a hat-trick against Tottenham – the Portuguese is quite simply PSG’s top scorer this season on the European scene. This excess of functions will certainly not have displeased Luis Enrique who has been encouraging him for three seasons to try his luck more and to plan to become a more complete and dominant player.
While his partners had a lot of difficulty breaking through the Magpies block in the second period, Vitinha tried again and looked for solutions to break the deadlock. But his long-range attempts lacked strength (63rd, 87th) or precision (78th). Difficult to blame the midfielder who will have more than fulfilled his part of the contract unlike attackers who are still so uninspired…
Related reading
- Ludovit Reis Leaves Club Brugge for Werder Bremen: Complete Transfer Details
- Jamal Musiala to Miss Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga Opener After Collapse Episodes
- Why a Perfect Bowling Game Scores 300, Not 120 (daybreakwire.com)
- Chelsea Beat Fulham 3-2 as Joao Pedro Sets Premier League Opening Record (archyde.com)
