Edinson Cavani Needs to Show More for Paris Saint-Germain

Goals have always been and will always be the most important element in football, and after five Ligue 1 games, Edinson Cavani has already found the net four times this season.

It would be hard to be critical of any striker with a similar record, but with PSG's Uruguayan, it highlights just why he is so frustrating at the highest level.

In PSG's win against Lille on opening day and their 2-0 win over Gazelec Ajaccio in their first game at the Parc des Princes, the 28-year-old was a mere passenger as others found the back of the net.

Then, when PSG travelled to Montpellier, it took another Blaise Matuidi strike to win the points.

Cavani's first two goals of the season came in the impressive 3-0 win away at Monaco, but despite his double, the striker was invisible in the first half.

He had to wait until the 57th minute, but Cavani met Matuidi’s left-foot cross perfectly and the header was unstoppable.

It was another sign of what he is capable of, but it highlighted that he is much more effective when he is fed the ball in dangerous areas, rather than asked to help create chances.

Then there was a rare sight: Zlatan Ibrahimovic slipped the ball through for El Matador to curl it past Danijel Subasic.

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

Goalscorers are bought to find the back of the net, and with two goals in one game, you want to praise the striker. However, when you analyse his overall performance and not just statistics, his actions leave you wanting more.

For the first 15 minutes against Bordeaux on Friday night, Cavani again looked flat and disinterested.

His off-the-ball movement has lacked invention and desire, and on a few occasions when players like Lucas Moura or Angel Di Maria picked up the ball, there was no effort to offer an angle or option for them to find.

Bordeaux's goalkeeper, Cedric Carrasso, played a huge part in setting Cavani up for his first goal on Friday. Rather than catch a routine over-hit pass from Marco Verratti, it bounced off his chest and dropped toward the Uruguayan.

Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images

His first touch was superb, taking the ball to his right, then with his second, he fired the volley into the empty net.

It was technically perfect and a wonderful take, everything you would expect from a top striker.

For his second, he showed a different side of his game. Taking charge of a free-kick 20 yards from goal, Cavani superbly curled the ball over and past the motionless 'keeper.

"

Cavani ce soir https://t.co/ippHRYWnS2

— sportingintelligence (@sportingintel) September 11, 2015"

At half-time Cavani had scored twice, giving his side a 2-1 lead. But in the second half, due to PSG’s complacency and Bordeaux’s spirited performance, he hardly featured at all.

"

Cavani second half contribution - consoled Trapp, one blast over, post-match fight - and that's it...

— FFW (@FrenchFtWeekly) September 11, 2015"

This has become all too common an occurrence for the former Napoli man. It’s great to have four goals in five games, but when those goals come from playing in just two halves of the five games, the productivity and usefulness of Cavani as a top-level forward have to be questioned.

Cavani's 18 goals last season seemed like a good contribution, but digging deeper, 10 of those goals came in his last seven games, and none occurred in the Champions League quarter-finals against Barcelona or the last-16 meeting with Chelsea. This is the return of a striker who has failed to perform consistently and failed to contribute when PSG have needed him most.

There is no doubting that Cavani has talent. You can see from the goals on Friday that he has the ability to perform. But it must be frustrating as a PSG fan when he fails to deliver when they really need him.

This is a huge season for the 28-year-old. It is expected that he will score around 20 goals in the league, but if he fails to make an impact in the high-pressure matches, those goals will mean very little.