Ranking and Grading PSG's Players on Champions League Group-Stage Performances
With their 3-1 loss to Barcelona at Camp Nou, French champions Paris Saint-Germain finished second in Group F of the UEFA Champions League and now nervously await the last-16 draw.
Thanks to that runners-up finish, Les Parisiens are now likely to face a stronger opponent than they would have done if they had managed to avoid defeat in Spain.
"105 - Barcelona has put an end to 105 competitive games without conceding 3+ goals by a team managed by Laurent Blanc (France + PSG). Ouch.
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) December 10, 2014"
Despite the disappointing final result, PSG still finished with 13 points and lost just the once. As the defeat came away from home, their impressive unbeaten record at the Parc des Princes is also still intact.
Here is a ranking of all of the PSG players who were used in the Champions League group stage.
Squad Players Not Included
1 of 19
Of PSG’s official 21-man squad, four players have a total of four minutes between them in the Champions League.
Left-back Lucas Digne is the man with that small amount of time to his name, while reserve goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez, veteran defender Zoumana Camara and young full-back Serge Aurier have yet to feature.
Despite the team missing a number of players, three of the four were afforded no game time and Digne was only handed the smallest of chances.
Securing PSG’s place in the latter stages with two games to spare allowed Laurent Blanc to rotate his squad if he saw fit, but the French giants chased top spot and went into every game as strong as possible.
18. Yohan Cabaye
2 of 19
Yohan Cabaye, although rarely used, has been poor when given the chance.
In the 43 minutes he was given on the pitch, the France international contributed next to nothing and injury ensured that he was limited to just three late substitute appearances.
Grade: D-
17. Clement Chantome
3 of 19
Given a combined five minutes in the home win over Barcelona and away success against APOEL, Clement Chantome’s 15-minute cameo in the 3-1 victory over Ajax just about qualifies him for this list.
Brought on each time to shore up the midfield and make sure that PSG did not ship any late goals, the 27-year-old did his job.
Grade: D
16. Jean-Christophe Bahebeck
4 of 19
Like team-mates Cabaye and Ezequiel Lavezzi, Jean-Christophe Bahebeck did not even play a full 90 minutes for PSG in the Champions League group stage.
However, in his 33 minutes across three different games, the 21-year-old did have more of an impact than his compatriot but marginally less than the Argentinian.
In the first APOEL game, Bahebeck showed he is capable of asking opponents tough questions and giving them headaches, but an injury put an end to his hopes of featuring further.
Grade: D
15. Ezequiel Lavezzi
5 of 19
PSG’s Ezequiel Lavezzi played 170 minutes of football during the group stage, yet the Argentinian only has one assist to his name.
El Pocho laid on an easy finish for team-mate Edinson Cavani in the home win over Ajax but otherwise offered little to the cause.
Grade: D+
14. Adrien Rabiot
6 of 19
After being forced to sit out four of PSG’s six group-stage games because of a contract dispute, Adrien Rabiot eventually returned to Blanc’s squad after penning a new deal.
The talented young French midfielder played for 75 minutes against Ajax and fared relatively well.
Blanc will be pleased to once again have him at his disposal, and the teenager will be happy to have returned to the European stage after a lengthy absence.
Grade: C-
13. Salvatore Sirigu
7 of 19
Two clean sheets from all six matches is not the total PSG’s Salvatore Sirigu would have been hoping for at the start of the Champions League group stage.
The Italy international performed well in both games against APOEL, but he was well beaten by Lionel Messi and Neymar in both Barcelona encounters, as well as Luis Suarez in the second.
Sirigu’s role in Ajax’s costly equaliser in the opening match in Amsterdam is another blot on his copybook.
Grade: C
12. Maxwell
8 of 19
Maxwell featured in every single one of PSG’s Champions League group-stage fixtures and put in a consistent level of performance, if nothing else.
Although the 33-year-old Brazilian was not as decisive as he has been in recent seasons, providing key assists and the odd goal, he has still been an important figure for the team.
However, he slipped at a key moment in the second half of the 3-1 defeat at Barcelona and also missed a good chance to pull his team level in that game.
Grade: C
11. Thiago Motta
9 of 19
PSG’s Thiago Motta has generally struggled to rediscover his best form this season, although he did save some of his vintage best for the 3-2 home win over his formative club, Barcelona.
Despite some relatively solid displays in most of Les Parisiens’ other group games, the Italy international was poor in the 3-1 defeat away at Barca.
The time is rapidly approaching for Blanc to consider Motta’s long-term future, if it has not arrived already. Like Maxwell, he is a declining power.
Grade: C
10. Gregory van der Wiel
10 of 19
Two assists highlighted what was an excellent four-game opening spell for Gregory van der Wiel in PSG’s Champions League campaign.
However, the Dutch international did not build on that and faded against former club Ajax and Barcelona in the final two encounters.
Van der Wiel has deservedly kept summer signing Serge Aurier out of the team so far, but he cannot rest on his laurels after his standards slipped toward the end of the Group F action.
Grade: B-
9. Javier Pastore
11 of 19
Despite the absence of goals and assists on his report card, Javier Pastore has been a key player for PSG in the group stage.
As he has during his superb early-season performances in Ligue 1, the Argentinian has often been at the heart of Les Parisiens’ best passages of play in Europe.
A starter in four of the French champions’ six matches, Blanc was right to leave El Flaco on the bench at Camp Nou. The South American’s lack of work ethic when he's not on the ball let him down and contributed toward Barca’s killer third goal.
Grade: B-
8. Lucas Moura
12 of 19
Like team-mate Pastore, Lucas might not have a volume of goals and assists to illustrate how well he played in PSG’s Champions League Group F campaign, but that should not detract from him when assessing his contribution.
The Brazilian provided an assist in the 3-2 win over Barcelona, as well as playing a key role in goals away and at home to Ajax and away at Barcelona.
Despite those good performances, though, Lucas must work on his finishing if he is to make a real impact in this competition. His first-half miss in the 3-1 defeat at Barcelona proved costly.
Grade: B
7. David Luiz
13 of 19
Despite a generally impressive start to life at PSG for summer arrival David Luiz, the Brazilian’s performance against Barcelona was comfortably one of his worst since moving to Paris.
The Brazil international had impressed in the Champions League prior to the Barcelona defeat, having created solid partnerships with both Marquinhos and captain Thiago Silva.
It is easy to criticise Luiz for his poor marking for Barca’s opener, but Silva was also guilty on that goal.
Those criticising him, however, are forgetting his opening goal in the 3-2 win over the Spaniards and his heroic goal-line clearance in the 1-0 away win at APOEL, which preserved one of the two clean sheets that he was responsible for. Overall, he was an important player in the group stage.
Grade: B
6. Thiago Silva
14 of 19
PSG’s two clean sheets, both in 1-0 victories over APOEL, came once Thiago Silva had returned after a lengthy injury lay-off.
The Brazilian’s return to fitness was a boost in Europe and domestically, but it could not stop the French giants from conceding four times in the final two games against Ajax and Barcelona. Silva will be particularly disappointed with his showing at Camp Nou.
Grade: B
5. Blaise Matuidi
15 of 19
After a slow start to the season, Blaise Matuidi has returned to his irrepressible best at the heart of the PSG midfield.
The French international was key in the 3-2 win over Barcelona—scoring the winning goal—and he was also impressive in defeat when the pair met in Spain.
Matuidi featured from the start in every group-stage game, only failing the finish the full 90 minutes on one occasion.
Grade: B+
4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
16 of 19
PSG’s star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic was absent for three of the French giants’ six Champions League group matches, but still managed to make his mark.
The Swede featured in the opening match of Group F, away at former side Ajax, playing the entire 90 minutes and doing relatively little. His heel injury followed soon after and kept him out of action against Barcelona and both APOEL encounters.
However, he made up for lost time with an excellent strike against the Amsterdammers in the 3-1 home win before netting in the 3-1 away loss at Barcelona, another one of his former clubs.
"4 - @Ibra_official has scored his last 4 competitive goals from his last 4 shots. Efficient.
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) December 10, 2014"
Grade: B+
3. Marco Verratti
17 of 19
PSG's Marco Verratti has been one of the outstanding players of the group stage for PSG.
Despite missing the 1-0 win over APOEL and 3-1 Ajax triumph in Paris, the 22-year-old Italian scored Les Parisiens' second goal in the 3-2 win over Barcelona and was a key player in the four appearances he made. That goal in the Barca victory was his first for the club.
"1 - Marco Verratti has won the most duels (10) and made the most recoveries (7) in the 1st half of Barcelona-PSG. Boss.
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) December 10, 2014"
Despite the result, the diminutive midfielder’s sensational performance at the heart of the midfield in the 3-1 defeat at Barcelona underlines his importance to this PSG side. Blanc’s decision to remove the Italian arguably cost the French champions their chance to salvage a draw and top spot.
Grade: A-
2. Marquinhos
18 of 19
Despite only featuring in three of PSG’s six games, Marquinhos was one of the French giants’ best players during the Champions League group stage.
Outstanding against both Ajax and Barcelona in the first two games, the young Brazilian was unlucky to see his momentum clipped by an untimely thigh injury.
The 20-year-old’s heroic last-ditch block in the 3-2 Barcelona win secured the most vital of results, emphasising how well the PSG No. 5 did stepping up in Thiago Silva’s absence. Without Marquinhos, Blanc’s men could have easily lost away at Ajax and drawn or worse at home to Barcelona.
The youngster came back into the team for Ajax game at home, but alongside Silva, he was unable to keep a clean sheet in Luiz’s absence.
Grade: A-
1. Edinson Cavani
19 of 19
With five goals in six Champions League appearances so far, Edinson Cavani was PSG’s key man in the group stage.
Even if his individual performances were not as good as expected, the fact remains that he has scored half of Les Parisiens’ 10 group-stage goals. On top of that, Cavani’s goals helped secure 10 of the French champions’ 13 total points.
Without El Matador and strike partner Ibrahimovic, PSG may well have succumbed to an embarrassing early exit.
Grade: A-
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