The match: Paris was patient
For the first of Luis Enrique on the bench, PSG convinced for his first of the season. Opposed to Le Havre in its brand new training center in Poissy on Friday, the capital club disposed of Le Havre (2-0) in its first friendly match of the pre-season. A solid start before the professional squad flies to Japan on Saturday.
After having come up against a solid Le Havre team in the first period – a block grouped together and wishing to play against – Paris made the difference in the second period thanks to goals from Hugo Ekitike (53rd) and the inevitable Kylian Mbappé (90th). For his first, Luis Enrique lined up two different elevens for each period in 4-3-3. The only player to have kept his place in the recovery was the young Ismael Gharbi.
Note: Marco Verratti did not play a single minute in this match. The Italian, however, spent a good part of the second half warming up on the side.
The starting compositions
Letellier (L) – Hakimi, Danilo, Hernandez, Kurzawa – Zaire-Emery, Ugarte, Fabian – Lee Kang-In, Asensio, Gharbi
Navas (L) – Sanches, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Nhaga – Ndour, Vitinha, Ethan Mbappé – Lemina, Ekitike, Gharbi
They came into play in the second half: K. Mbappé (65th), Letellier (71st)
Players: Mbappé scorer, Zaire-Emery and Ndour promising, Kang In Lee injured
He is on everyone’s mind. Left on the bench at kick-off, he who only resumed training last Monday, Kylian Mbappé entered in the 65th minute during this friendly match. Often sought on his left side, the captain of the Blues was well muzzled by the Le Havre defense, but he ended up finding the net in the 90th minute. He also almost scored a double in stride. His end to the game was good.
Among the other Parisians who have seduced: Warren Zaire-Emery has composed very well with his hybrid role in the midfield of Luis Enrique. He helped Manuel Ugarte a lot in the defensive zone, while projecting himself well in front. Ismael Gharbi tried quite a bit from his left side, before Mbappé entered.
On the rookie side: Lucas Hernandez had a solid first outing. Aligned in hinge with Danilo, the former Bayern was reassuring in his interventions, even if the lack of automatisms with his new teammates was felt, which led to a lot of discussions. With the ball at his feet, the French international was ambitious with a few climbs and a certain precision in his passing choices.
In front of him, Manuel Ugarte, positioned in 6, took no risk and played a lot behind. He also stood out for 2-3 rough interventions, at the Uruguayan. In the second half, Cher Ndour was very interesting as an insider. He delivered the decisive pass on Mbappé’s goal.
Perhaps the most talked about was Kang In Lee. Mobile, toned and available, the former Valencia playmaker perfectly animated his right wing and multiplied one-twos at the entrance to the surface during the first act. His technical ease was felt, but the Korean had to leave the field in the 43rd minute after feeling an alert in the back of his right thigh. Aligned with him in the attacking trio, Marco Asensio was not comfortable in his role as false number nine, despite a clear opportunity kicked out by Arthur Desmas (31st).