At the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium,
It was not until November 28 that Sergio Ramos play his 8th official game of the year 2021. We had left the legendary Spanish central defender in a semi-final return of the Champions League Chelsea-Real (2-0), the May 5 in London. Almost six months later, and after many doubts and mockery about his physical condition, the 35-year-old finally had his first official match with PSG, Sunday in Saint-Etienne (1-3). As a symbol as some followers imagined him to retire without ever wearing the Parisian jersey, Sergio Ramos was entitled to regular snowfall for his long-awaited debut in Ligue 1.
A simple wink in the direction of supporters of the Greens cheering at the bottom of the Pierre Faurand stand, during the warm-up, was enough to launch a Sergiomania under the snowflakes of Forez. Established as left axial, alongside his new captain Marquinhos, the ex-Madrilenian has multiplied the precise transversals in the direction of Achraf Hakimi and Angel Di Maria, while also seeking to play short, with the serenity that one knows him.
Ramos is the player with the most assists in ASSE-PSG
In the second period, in view of the attack-defense configuration linked to the expulsion of Stéphanois Timothée Kolodziejczak (45th), he did not hesitate to come and scratch the ball very high, pressing Wahbi Khazri up to his 40 m , and going even once with an almost decisive opening for Kylian Mbappé at the entrance to the area.
It’s simple, the Spaniard has so validated his passing exam in the Forez that he is the player who attempted (101) and succeeded (95) the most passes in this match, as revealed by Opta. And who says Sergio Ramos obviously says a good mess with a bloody opponent, here without surprise Wahbi Khazri. After delicately suggesting to the Greens striker to get up, Ramos, with his job and his aura (and the privileges that go with it), avoided a warning.
Wahbi Khazri “doesn’t give a damn” about Sergio Ramos
Basically, everyone is happy to find him, the guy. Failing to be able to take advantage of at least one of his teammates agreeing to stop in a mixed zone, we had to fall back on Wahbi Khazri, who wanted to minimize their collision, with a frank smile: “No, it was in the game, he comes back and all is well ”. So we say to ourselves that we will be able to relaunch him on what he thought of the return of one of the defensive monsters of the last 15 years in Europe. And there, failure: Frankly, I do not care, but outright. I try to focus on myself and on my game, and I let you judge his performance ”.
🎙 Sergio Ramos’ premiere with Paris?
⚡ Khazri: “Frankly, I don’t care, but outright.” pic.twitter.com/mWvLRGepC9
– RMC Sport (@RMCsport) November 28, 2021
We do not pray for that, and given how he managed to hold the entire meeting, this suggests that his physical glitches in 2021, between an operated knee and the calf, are ancient history. “It’s a unique sensation, a very special day for me, relishes the person concerned on the PSG site. After spending so much time without playing, it’s important for me to have played 90 minutes. “
“I can still play four or five years”
What push Mauricio Pochettino to consider for good this system with three central defenders (Ramos-Marquinhos-Kimpembe) that we all imagined last summer, at the time of the signing of Sergio Ramos? Happy to finally be able to launch in his group “a great champion”, the always verbose Argentine coach has cracked a stunning “it’s a possibility”. We will have time to discover all that.
In the meantime, during an interview on Prime Video broadcast on Sunday, we had the almost unique opportunity to detect flaws in the character, due to his frustrating year 2021: “There were moments of difficult loneliness and even permanently negative thoughts which sometimes cause doubts ”. Rest assured, the triumphant Sergio Ramos of Real, four times crowned in the Champions League, is never far away: “I believed in myself and in my work. I can still play for four or five years ”. Sunday morning, we admit that we would have had a good time reading this. This Monday, we already see it a little less as the remake of the false good idea Gianluigi Buffon.