Edinson Cavani Rejuvenation Can Arrest PSG Slump in Ligue 1 Title Defence

Paris Saint-Germain dropped points for the fourth time this Ligue 1 season thanks to a 1-1 draw with Olympique Lyonnais at Parc des Princes on Sunday. The result has prompted consternation in the French capital, but the result should not spark panic for the defending champions just yet.

After all, Laurent Blanc’s men are still unbeaten in six matches in Le Championnat.

Les Parisiens’ opening goal came from Edinson Cavani, a clinical header from an inch-perfect Lucas Digne cross after 20 minutes, and the Uruguayan’s strike—not to mention his good overall performance—will be one of few positives taken from this result.

Following a slow start to the season, El Matador has started to gain momentum recently. The 27-year-old has scored in each of PSG’s three home games in the league and also netted in last week’s 1-1 draw against Ajax in their UEFA Champions League Group F opener.

In all competitions, he has three in his last four appearances.

Although he still trails strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic by two goals in Ligue 1, Cavani is only one strike behind the super Swede in all competitions now. What is more, all of the South American’s goals have come in different games—most of them more than just simple tap-ins, too—and the PSG No. 9 is currently finding the back of the net on a more regular basis than Ibrahimovic.

Despite Blanc not yet having adapted the team tactics to perfectly suit Cavani, as was expected pre-season, the former SSC Napoli star is making the most of it and tries to take the best chances that come his way when he moves inside.

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

He did just that on Sunday, nodding in Digne’s cross with an excellent diving header, and can feel aggrieved to have been substituted after 72 minutes instead of Ibrahimovic, who was experiencing a rare poor performance.

One of PSG’s gravest concerns at this moment is how rapidly some of the team’s star turns have aged. Ibrahimovic, Thiago Motta and Maxwell—the latter pair both started the Lyon match on the bench—have all looked some way below their usual level of sharpness this campaign.

Ibrahimovic, the reason why Cavani is unable to play in his preferred central role up front, has actually only scored against Stade de Reims and AS Saint-Etienne so far this season.

The second against Reims was dubiously awarded to him when it could, and perhaps should, have been given as a Johnny Placide own goal, while two of the Swede’s treble against Les Verts came against a side majorly fatigued after being taken to penalties in the UEFA Europa League just three days before the game.

Jacques Brinon/Associated Press

Cavani has a case to claim that he is PSG’s most consistent attacking threat at present and, because of that, a change in formation would suit him, as well as potentially break the team out of their current malaise. The Uruguayan international is one of the few players in the team who has not allowed his intensity to drop, which makes Blanc’s decision to substitute the predator against Lyon a difficult decision to understand.

It may well still be early days in PSG’s season, but the first signs indicate that it is going to be difficult for Ibrahimovic to replicate his two previous stellar campaigns. Because of this, Blanc must look to utilise Cavani as best he can so that the South American can share the goalscoring burden as often as possible. If this requires a change in formation, which early performance suggest that it does, then so be it.

Cavani is €64 million worth of striker, and although plenty is made of his loose deployment out wide at PSG, he still managed to score an impressive 16 league goals in 30 appearances last term. That is slightly better than one goal every two matches and includes a major loss of form since the beginning of 2014.

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

In the first half of last season, Cavani was the same prolific talent who earned rave reviews in Naples despite his questionable positioning. His excellent work rate and willingness to embrace his defensive responsibilities allowed him to contribute in ways that Ibrahimovic could not, yet he still managed to take enough of his chances to have racked up 18 goals in all competitions by Christmas.

Cavani appears to be approaching similar form now, and PSG should look to make the most of it.

If El Matador continues to find the net with this sort of regularity, and Ibrahimovic’s mini dip in form extends and becomes a much bigger concern, it could be Cavani’s goals—not Zlatan’s—that are required to break the French champions out of their current slump in form.