By Shai Mamou
They were not so many to think that Paris S.G. could beat F.C. Sevilla Thursday evening. Okay, the Spanish team is clearly on the decline, after five promising years where they won the now obsolete UEFA Cup.
With players like Luis Fabiano and Jesus Navas, I obviously thought that Sevilla was the favorite of this opposition. I mean, Paris seems to be more stable in the French championship but still… By showing real defensive skills (which was really unexpected), a collective desire to fight and a certain disposition to counter attack, PSG surprised their opponent (0-1). The late goal of Nenê (photo), even with the help of Caceres, rewards a solid game of Kombouaré’s guys. Once again, i really appreciated Nenê, I found the Brazilian’s tricks quite useful and his left foot can do serious damages in a lot of defenses. Clément Chantôme, who is clearly not one of the favorite players of the coach, showed that his officious title of never-achieving young talent could probably be denied this year. On the other hand, and despite the fact that I really like this player, I think that Mevlut Erding’s performance was, once again, worrying. The Turkish striker lacks of altruism and efficiency in front of the goalkeeper. Let’s see now if this team can confirm in Ligue 1. Each time there is a pretense of hope in the capital, the crisis reappears without preventing…
Tonight, Lille, (the LOSC), second French team engaged in the competition, disappointed me. Well, in opposition to the last season, the team of Rudi Garcia does not propose the same offensive and pleasant game style. The men have not changed since May but the efficiency and the general quality of the team did. At home and against an enigmatic team of Sporting Portugal, Lille should have done better.
The 1-2 loss (Vukcevic and Postiga for Sporting, Frau for Lille) obscure their future in the competition. I have to say I am still waiting for a confirmation of Eden Hazard’s talent. He was very impressive last season, but seems to have problems to raise his level for occasions like this. Cabaye and Balmont, the two Lille regulators, first had troubles to deal with their opponents tonight. I found Gervinho a little tired and Obraniak was discrete. The “Dogues” now have to focus on the championship were they are only in 8th position. Beware of the disappointment for Lille this season…
