2024-01-14 09:49:08
Published on: 01/14/2024 – 10:49
4 mn
Before injuring his foot in the selection on September 8, the Spanish attacking midfielder (28 years old on January 21), capable of also playing winger or center forward, had a rather convincing start to the season with two goals and an assist in three matches.
Returning to the group at the end of November, the man who had already suffered a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee in 2019 had only a few minutes of play at the end of the year (58 minutes in five matches).
For the first match of 2024, Sunday in the Coupe de France against Revel, a sixth division club (9-0), the native of Palma de Mallorca, who signed for three years in Paris, finally played a whole match.
Better yet, he magnified the game thanks to a decisive pigeon wing for Kylian Mbappé (16th). Before scoring himself (43rd) after coming up against the goalkeeper several times.
While the two Parisian attackers, Randal Kolo Muani and Gonçalo Ramos, seem less and less to satisfy coach Luis Enrique, Marco Asensio has a card to play in the rotation. And could score points at the No.9 position.
“Marco”, named in homage to the legendary Dutch striker Van Basten, could better correspond to the style of the Spanish technician, known for his passing game and who made him a starter during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (one goal) when he was coach of the Spain team.
Spaniard Marco Asensio during the Coupe de France match between Paris SG and US Revel, January 7, 2024 in Castres © Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP
Asked on Saturday about the Spanish international and in particular if he would no longer play in 2024 and would be lined up on Sunday, Luis Enrique did not wish to answer, evading the question of a “maybe, or maybe not”.
Balance the game
Less fast and impactful than Ousmane Dembélé or Bradley Barcola, the former Real Madrid player (286 matches, 61 goals) is more technical and more comfortable combining in small spaces. Known for his ball handling and passing, he could better balance the Parisian game.
“Asensio can play as a false nine, on the wing, in the corridor, having such a versatile profile is important, I can change the way of playing during the same match without changing players,” confided Luis Enrique in a conference press release at the beginning of November, and “he doesn’t lose the ball under pressure, that’s something important for us”.
“It’s a different profile from the other nine we have, Randal Kolo Muani and Ramos,” added the coach a few days later. “On the left lane, with his natural foot, he can overflow towards the outside. He can also add superiority between the lines and he also offers a different option in point,” explained Luis Enrique, who plays versatility of its players a priority.
Asensio also has the qualities to break the lines and throw his teammates deep, and first and foremost Kylian Mbappé.
Connection with Mbappé
The two players seem to have a complementary profile, where the connection between the French star, repositioned at the forefront since November, and “RKM” or Ramos has not been fluid since the start of the season.
The left-hander also delivered his three assists in the Parisian colors at No.7.
Off the pitch, the Spaniard is described as “very professional”, with “great class”, and “always smiling”, according to an internal source at the club, adding that he “knows how to win a Champions League”, that he won three times with Real Madrid.
During the first leg against Lens (3-1) on August 26, the Majorcan opened the scoring with a nice goal. The best way to continue to make your mark fully before the big deadlines in February in the Champions League will be to do it again on Sunday evening at Bollaert.
This match could “could be a very good way to test themselves” for his players, according to Luis Enrique because it “has all the ingredients that a high-level team could dream of”, “it is an almost unbeatable opponent at home, a team that presses, that doesn’t give a lot of time to think.”
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