Paris Saint-Germain: Full Report Card for Every Position for November

November is often a difficult month for Paris Saint-Germain, and in the pre-Qatar Sports Investments era, talk of a “crisis” was quite common during that month.

Since the QSI takeover, however, results have steadily improved during this tricky period, and this year’s performance was the French champions’ best under their current owners.

PSG played six times last month, winning every single match. Although some of those victories might not have been earned by the most convincing of displays, Les Parisiens are grinding out the results.

Four of those six successes came in Ligue 1, while the other two were in the UEFA Champions League. As a result, Laurent Blanc’s men are now second in Le Championnat, trailing leaders Olympique de Marseille by a single point, and they have also qualified for the latter stages of the Champions League and remain top of Group F.

"

6 - PSG have won their last 6 home games in the Champions League, their best run since October 2000 (6). Parc.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 25, 2014"

All in all, it was a pleasing month in terms of results and progress made.

Here is a full report card for every position for November.

Goalkeepers

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

Salvatore Sirigu

Three clean sheets out of six games is not bad, especially when one of those shutouts comes against the most free-scoring team in Ligue 1, who just so happen to be your bitter rivals.

Salvatore Sirigu’s clean sheet against Marseille in the 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes was arguably the highlight of his November performances.

Grade: B+

Nicolas Douchez

Substitute goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez has not featured at all for PSG this season. Now injured and with no comeback date set, that will not be changing anytime soon.

The 34-year-old might even miss what would have been his first start of the campaign when Les Parisiens travel to Corsica to face AC Ajaccio in the Coupe de la Ligue last 16.

Grade: N/A

Mike Maignan

Third-choice goalkeeper Mike Maignan, like Douchez, has yet to feature in a single minute of first-team action this season. However, he has at least been starting on the bench in place of Douchez while he is out injured.

Grade: N/A

Right-Backs

Francois Mori/Associated Press

Gregory van der Wiel

Dutch right-back Gregory van der Wiel played in three of PSG’s six matches in November, and he missed the FC Lorient and Olympique de Marseille clashes because of his red card in the 3-0 win over Girondins de Bordeaux back in October.

Although not at his absolute best, the Dutchman has maintained a solid level of performance and continues to keep Serge Aurier out of the team when he's available.

Grade: B-

Serge Aurier

Van der Wiel’s suspension for the Lorient and Marseille matches handed Serge Aurier his chance to impress in his team-mate’s absence.

Despite not grasping that chance against Lorient, the Ivorian put in his best display in a PSG shirt against Marseille. It was the 21-year-old’s cross that supplied Edinson Cavani with his headed goal late on.

However, an average showing against Nice detracts from an otherwise positive month.

Grade: C+

Left-Backs

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Maxwell

The solid and reliable Maxwell started four of PSG’s six November matches, helping to keep clean sheets in two of them.

Despite not making as big a contribution as he did in October, the Brazilian is still first-choice left-back by some distance.

Grade: B+

Lucas Digne

If October was a disappointing month for Lucas Digne, then November was a disastrous one.

Handed starts against both Lorient and Nice, the France international failed to make the most of either and did more to cement Maxwell’s position as Blanc’s first-choice left-back than boost his own credentials.

Grade: D

Central Defenders

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Thiago Silva

As suggested during October, Thiago Silva’s partnership with David Luiz at the heart of the PSG defence is becoming a source of strength for the French champions.

The Brazil international featured in five of the capital club’s six games in November, helping the team keep clean sheets in three of them. Along with defensive partner Luiz, he is one of Les Parisiens’ most valuable players so far this season.

Grade: A

David Luiz

November was another good month for David Luiz.

Despite missing the trips to Lorient and FC Metz, the Brazilian played in four of PSG’s six games and three of those finished with clean sheets. Luiz’s partnership with Silva continues to improve game after game.

Grade: A

Marquinhos

After not featuring at all during October, Marquinhos returned to action for PSG in November. The Brazilian started three games, but all of them saw the opponents score.

Grade: B-

Zoumana Camara

Marquinhos’ return to fitness has pushed Zoumana Camara back to the fringes, and he was unused in November.

Grade: N/A

Central Midfielders

Francois Mori/Associated Press

Blaise Matuidi

The irrepressible Blaise Matuidi was a shining example to his PSG team-mates in November.

Despiteundergoing a hand operation during the final international break of 2014, the France international featured in all six of Les Parisiens’ games and showed his commitment to the cause by playing through the injury.

Grade: B+

Marco Verratti

Despite being injured for the majority of November, Marco Verratti still managed to feature in three of PSG’s most important matches.

The Italian was present for the 2-1 win away at Lorient in Ligue 1, the 1-0 victory away at APOEL in the UEFA Champions League and the 2-0 home success over Marseille in Le Championnat.

When he played, he was as important as ever and provided a sumptuous assist for Jean-Christophe Bahebeck’s winner against Lorient.

Grade: B

Thiago Motta

Since the start of the season, Thiago Motta has been struggling to rediscover his best form with PSG. November saw those struggles continue.

Suspended for the Marseille match, he also missed the Ajax clash through injury after being substituted at half-time during the 3-2 win away at Metz.

The Italy international is perhaps finally starting to show his age.

Grade: C+

Adrien Rabiot

Back in the fold after finally opting to renew terms with PSG after a drawn-out contract battle, Adrien Rabiot has returned the side and immediately found himself in the thick of it.

With Laurent Blanc suffering from a selection headache in midfield for a number of games, the 19-year-old was called upon immediately after his renewal and started against Metz and Ajax before coming on as a substitute against Nice.

Grade: C

Clement Chantome

After just 29 minutes of total playing time in October, a 70-minute stint in the 3-2 win away at Metz was an unexpected bonus for Clement Chantome. Another 15 minutes in the win over Ajax takes him up to 85 minutes overall, which can be seen as progress by the 27-year-old.

Grade: D+

Yohan Cabaye

If it seemed like Yohan Cabaye’s situation at PSG could not get worse than it was in October, the France international’s November has somehow seen him drop even further down Blanc’s pecking order.

Woeful against Lorient, the 28-year-old was distinctly average against both APOEL and Marseille before an injury against Metz ruled him out of Les Parisiens’ clashes with Ajax and Nice.

Grade: E

Wingers

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Lucas Moura

Lucas Moura followed up and excellent October with a decent November. Scorer of the opener in PSG’s 2-0 win over bitter rivals Marseille, the Brazilian played in three Ligue 1 games from the start, as well as one Champions League game. He also came on as a substitute against Ajax.

He was not quite at the same level of performance as he was in October, due to his momentum being disturbed by an injury picked up in the Marseille victory—a game in which he sparkled.

Grade: A-

Jean-Christophe Bahebeck

November started fantastically well for Jean-Christophe Bahebeck. After the disappointment of his early substitution against Bordeaux in October, he got handed another chance against Lorient for 28 minutes and took full advantage, scoring from a narrow angle thanks to a sublime Marco Verratti pass.

His good month stopped there, though, with an injury during the international break making a brief appearance against APOEL his only other appearance in November.

Still injured at the time of writing, Bahebeck is unfortunate that his progress has been hampered.

Grade: B-

Ezequiel Lavezzi

After making a scoring return to action against Bordeaux in October, Ezequiel Lavezzi returned to form in November and featured in all six games played.

Five of those were starts, including Metz away, a game in which he scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory.

Grade: B-

No. 10

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Javier Pastore

November saw Javier Pastore continue his excellent early-season form.

The Argentine playmaker has stepped up his game even further in the past four weeks and finally scored his first goal of the season in the 3-2 win over Metz.

Grade: A-

Strikers

Francois Mori/Associated Press

Edinson Cavani

After coming in for heavy criticism for his poor form prior to October, Edinson Cavani picked up where he left off and enjoyed a positive November.

The Uruguayan featured in all six of PSG’s November games, scoring two Ligue 1 goals and a further three in the Champions League. With a total of five goals in six matches, Blanc can hardly ask for more from El Matador.

"

1-0 (33') Edinson Cavani becomes Uruguay's all-time leading goalscorer in the #UCL. His 13th goal makes him surpass Walter Pandiani's 12

— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) November 25, 2014"

While his individual performances might not have been of the highest quality, his goals were irreplaceable and put him on a par with Silva and Luiz as the team’s most valuable players for the month.

Grade: A

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

After a lengthy absence, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is finally back for PSG.

The Swedish star made his comeback in the 2-0 win over Marseille before starting against both Metz and Nice in Ligue 1 and Ajax in the Champions League.

Ibrahimovic scored in two of those three games, including a brilliant finish against one of his former clubs in Europe.

"

463 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic has put an end to a run of 463 minutes without scoring in all comps with PSG. Comeback.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 25, 2014"

Although not a perfect comeback, it was as good as anybody could have expected.

Grade: B+

Coach

Francois Mori/Associated Press

Laurent Blanc

PSG went into November on a winning run of three matches in all competitions.

Say what you like, but coach Laurent Blanc has managed to sustain that appetite for winning games and overseen progress domestically and in Europe.

"

67.7% - Laurent Blanc has won 67.7% of his Champions League games, more than any other manager (min. 20 games). Dream.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 25, 2014"

Les Parisiens are now just one point behind Marseille in Le Championnat, as opposed to four at the start of the month. They also confirmed their place in the latter stages of the Champions League with two games to spare.

PSG’s playing style may not be the most consistently attractive, but it is effective and is obtaining results at present.

Blanc surely deserves some credit for that.

Grade: A-