PSG scores against Maccabi Haifa (1-3) – Messi, Neymar and Mbappé, nothingness then thunderous awakening

Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6

His start to the match – again – highlighted his great shortcomings on foot and his lack of confidence in the field (5th, 10th). But, for the rest, he saved the shack several times, notably by leaving a very nice save just before half-time (11th, 15th, 45th). Much less solicited in the second period before a last surprising intervention in added time.

  • In short: Serene with his hands, disturbing with his feet.

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Nordi Mukiel: 3.5

It was his first start in the Champions League with Paris and it showed. Very in difficulty at the start of the match with dangerous loss of balls (11th) or badly felt positioning (16th), he clearly lacked benchmarks in a system that he nevertheless knows. His rare deep calls could have hurt, however.

Replaced by Achraf Hakimi (84e).

Sergio Ramos : 3

We didn’t recognize him. Very serious since the start of the season, he went completely through this Wednesday. It is he who raises anyhow on the opener (24th) and who therefore deserts the Paris area. Beaten in the engagement, not always inspired to raise, he suffered all the opposing offensives on the back foot.

  • In short: Not at all reliable.

Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos

Credit: Getty Images

Marquinhos : 4

He was again undermined by his direct opponent, Pierrot, who frankly jostled him with his physical density. He sometimes tried to sound the revolt or to bring his sense of recovery but it was often in a vacuum, the fault of a no man’s land in the middle. Less in difficulty in the second half after the physical decline of Maccabi. He offers himself a situation on a corner (45th).

  • In short: He did not particularly reassure on his current dispositions.

Danilo Pereira : 4

Replacing Presnel Kimpembe, he did not try to take risks but suffered like all his defensive teammates. Not helped by a Nuno Mendes in difficulty, he clogged up a lot, without much efficiency, leaving many spaces behind his back (27th, 43rd).

  • In short: Has suffered more than imposed by its law.

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Nuno Mendes : 4

If Maccabi Haifa was so exciting in the first period, it is also because the young Portuguese will never have managed to police his area. Abused by Atzili, he never really knew how to take the measure of his adversaries, who ended up insisting on his side. Offensively, he almost never projected himself, except after Mbappé’s goal.

  • In short: Much less exciting when there are few movements….

Neymar shifts Nuno Mendes against Maccabi Haifa

Credit: Getty Images

Marco Verratti: 5

He was the main victim of Parisian apathy with very few solutions at his disposal and a first period spent running behind his opponents. The Chery-Abu Fani duo will have made him see all the colors. Although less prominent offensively, however, he ended up with a clinical opening for Neymar (88th).

  • In short: For once, it was his opponents who drove him crazy

Vitinha: 5.5

It was the only level for more than an hour of play. True to form, he struggled without counting to compensate for the shortcomings of Paris. His defensive slaughter will have been invaluable, often leading to dangerous situations (62nd). He is behind the opposing goal but he is not the main culprit (24th).

  • In short: In the middle of the desert, he never gave up.

Replaced by Fabian Ruiz (74e).

Lionel Messi: 6

His start to the match was a nightmare, with a dry pitch that bothered him a lot. Multiple bullet losses, relatively few movements and often bad choices. But it is ultimately he who is ambushed after the overflow of Mbappé (37th). His return from the locker room was hardly more exciting but it was he who launched the Parisian awakening with a good incursion (64th) before offering a marvelous pass to Mbappé (69th). He finished better, with cakes that deserved a better fate.

  • In short: Waste before caviar.

Lionel Messi against Maccabi Haifa

Credit: Getty Images

Kylian Mbappe: 6

He started with two huge chances, wasted by two unnecessary dribbles in these duels against the goalkeeper (2nd, 11th). Two misses wonderfully illustrating a match where he will have missed a lot, like his attacking friends. Very often stopped, rarely in the right tempo, he however unlocks the game on his own: first on this classy sequence offering the equalizer to Messi (37th) then on his goal after the Argentinian gave him the same (68th).

  • In short: Very disappointing but ultra-decisive.

Neymar : 5

He too never seemed in his game. He lost his duel against the goalkeeper by also trying to dribble without getting the penalty he was hoping for (28th). A fact of the game that completely took him out of his match, like his corner directly out of goal (34th). His too rare stalls left the Parisian milieu without a solution and his raids had little convincing result. After the lowering of the opposing flag, he ended up showing a better face, even offering himself the last goal and collecting a yellow card for his celebration (88e).

In short: Possibly his worst game of the season so far.

Replaced by Carlos Soler (90+1e).

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