If he is often mocked by many supporters of the France team, Benjamin Pavard keeps an important rating at Bayern Munich, not delighted with the idea of losing his versatile defender at the end of the contract. Aligned to the right of a three-man defense on Tuesday evening during the victory in Paris in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League (0-1), the 2018 world champion (26 years old) has once again proven his value at a high level.
Even if he did not finish the meeting, after receiving a second logical yellow card in added time (90th + 2) for having mowed down Lionel Messi on a very hot action from PSG. His trainer Julian Nagelsmann did not hold it against him at a press conference “The red card is not good news. Especially since Benji had a brilliant match, commented the Bavarian technician. It was a difficult situation, Messi was going fast. It’s 50-50, whether you tackle or not. It’s not good for the second leg but that’s how it is. »
Almost head scorer
Before driving the point home: “He was brilliant today, that’s also important. Effective in defense, to counter Parisian attempts or to control Neymar (despite a foul on the Brazilian which will earn him his first warning, 26th), Pavard also almost scored with his head (64th). But Gianluigi Donnarumma intervened more nicely than on Kingsley Coman’s goal.
Coveted by big teams like FC Barcelona, Pavard can see the future serenely on the club side. In the France team, it may be something else, after a World Cup in Qatar that was more than frustrating on a personal level.