Edinson Cavani Spares PSG's Blushes with Massive Late Winner vs. APOEL

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Finally!

Edinson Cavani’s 87th-minute strike was enough for Paris Saint-Germain to claim a fortuitous 1-0 away win over APOEL FC in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night. The three points earned in Nicosia keep the French champions at the top of Group F, one point clear of Spanish giants Barcelona, preserving Laurent Blanc and his players’ hard work from their last encounter.

With APOEL now travelling to Paris in a fortnight for the return fixture, PSG are in an excellent position to make qualifying for the latter stages something of a formality. However, it did not look to be the case for 86 minutes in Cyprus. For the majority of the encounter, Les Parisiens were below par and struggled to really create anything going forward.

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If anything, the hosts looked the better side and were unlucky not to take the lead on a number of occasions—notably David Luiz’s headed goal-line clearance from Tiago Gomes’ goal-bound effort—before PSG eventually made the breakthrough.

If you don’t take your chances, you will get punished against the bigger teams, which is how it transpired for APOEL. On the balance of play, the Cypriots deserved to win the game, but the French giants made their hosts pay the ultimate price by landing a late, killer blow.

For PSG, it could not have come at a better time, nor from a better source.

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After yet another frustrating performance from Cavani and his teammates, the Uruguayan conjured up a late piece of magic out of almost nothing. El Matador showed true predatory instinct to unlock what had otherwise been a tight APOEL defence and guide the ball past Urko Pardo in the home goal.

Cavani’s relief was clear for all to see, and his celebration reflected the immediate confidence boost that a goal from open play had given him. In a thinly veiled dig at French referee Nicolas Rainville—who controversially booked him for his same “gun” celebration in last Friday’s 3-1 win over RC Lens before sending the Uruguayan off as he tried to protest—the 27-year-old aimed his celebration at the ground instead of the crowd.

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While Cavani’s goal comes at the best possible moment for the player, it arrives at a frustrating moment for his teammates and coach Blanc. Just as their No. 9’s confidence seems to be up once again, they will be deprived of his services for this weekend’s crunch Ligue 1 clash with Girondins de Bordeaux at the Parc des Princes.

It is a bitter blow for PSG with star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic expected to miss out once again, but Blanc will likely just be grateful that such an expensive asset is finally showing that he still remembers how to put the ball in the back of the net. That is what PSG bought him to do, after all.

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Cavani now needs to make the most of his enforced rest and ensure that he builds on this moment.

It was not the South American’s best performance on the night, but few of his teammates excelled either—with the obvious exception of Luiz, who was superb—and Cavani was the ultimate difference. Although it might sound like an overreaction, only a truly world-class striker can manage to eke out such a goal late in a tight game like that during a barren spell of personal form.

El Matador has scored better goals in his career—in fact, he has scored better for PSG—but few have come with the same level of importance.

Thanks to Cavani, Blanc and his players can breathe easily and leave Cyprus with a feeling of accomplishment despite a relatively underwhelming performance. A home win over third-placed Bordeaux this weekend would make it an extremely successful week.