PLAYER RATINGS | PSG 0-0 Lorient: Promising start but no way through for the champions
The result may not have been as emphatic as the win back in April, but Régis Le Bris’ Lorient side have once again taken points off Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. This time, Les Merlus were able to fend off a new-look lineup for Luis Enrique’s first game in charge.
The opening exchanges of the match saw the hosts dominate possession – as high as 90% in the first 20 minutes – but lacked any tangible attacking edge, as their forays forward were mostly limited to tedious build-up around the Lorient box.
By the time the break came, the champions had enjoyed four-fifths of possession – but there was still no way through Les Merlus‘ defence. Régis Le Bris’ men would launch a few counter-attacks of their own – notably with Laurent Abergel’s drive up the pitch – but PSG’s new-look defence were equal to them.
The second half followed the same pattern – although cracks did begin to appear in the visitors’ defence, as increasingly clear-cut chances came PSG’s way. The impressive Manuel Ugarte saw a close-range shot blocked, before Gonçalo Ramos sent a header just wide of the post.
Although there was no way through the Lorient defence, there were some promising debut performances for the hosts – most of all from Manuel Ugarte in midfield. With the upcoming addition of Ousmane Dembélé – and, who knows, a return for Kylian Mbappé? – will go some way towards resolving the issues going forward.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 6
Achraf Hakimi, 5
Danilo Pereira, 7
Milan Škriniar, 6 – A fantastic debut from the Slovakian, who looked assured throughout the game and comfortably dealt with the few Lorient attacks that came his way.
Lucas Hernandez, 6
Warren Zaïre-Emery, 5
Manuel Ugarte, 7 – An confident debut from the Uruguayan, who was
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