Understated Maxwell Fires PSG Past Lille and into Coupe De La Ligue Final

Paris Saint-Germain are into a second consecutive Coupe de la Ligue final after a narrow 1-0 win away at Lille OSC on Tuesday night. Playing in a third away fixture in three League Cup games at Stade Pierre Mauroy, manager Laurent Blanc’s men showed strong team spirit to overcome Les Dogues, even if certain individuals were not at their best once again.

But while those star names were struggling to impose themselves on a cold night in northern France, one man who can always be relied upon to deliver solid performance after solid performance—without ever drastically dropping his level—stepped up to the plate.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Brazilian left-back Maxwell, so often an unsung hero in this PSG side, blasted a left-footed thunderbolt into the roof of Vincent Enyeama’s net in the 27th minute after Edinson Cavani had recovered from a slip in the host’s penalty area to cut the ball back for his teammate.

That spectacular strike would be enough to book a second straight ticket to Stade de France for the Coupe de la Ligue holders and all-time record winners.

If anybody in the capital outfit’s ranks deserves to be the hero in a moment like this, then it is Maxwell. The South American star has been underrated for almost the entirety of his European career, yet he leaves an excellent impression wherever he goes.

Even in Paris, the 33-year-old is underrated. However, he is still a regular starter in Blanc’s preferred XI of choice and has been an integral part of Les Parisiens’ ambitious project since his arrival in 2012.

Curiously, Maxwell has a habit of being more effective in front of goal when away from home than when in the French capital, having scored six of his eight goals for the French champions on the road. Few—if any—have been more important than this, though, and the Selecao star deserves a rare moment in the limelight.

It was just as well for the PSG No. 17’s teammates that he took the chance when it came his way, because otherwise, the team created little going forward once again.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Captain Thiago Silva maintained a tight back line, ensuring a fifth clean sheet in eight games across all competitions so far this year and a third consecutive shutout. It spoke volumes that reserve goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez barely had a testing save to make and registered a third clean sheet in six appearances this season.

However, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was disappointingly muted once again, and Cavani—although provider for Maxwell’s goal—was unable to take the few openings that came his way and spent more time defending after the opener.

The midfield unit battled hard against Lille’s, with Marco Verratti, Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi all getting stuck in.

The former enjoyed a strong first half but let himself down with some reckless behaviour as tensions boiled over and the pint-sized Italian picked up a booking along with Lucas Moura and Lille’s Florent Balmont and Djibril Sidibe.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

However, that was the sum total of the performance.

With a crunch Ligue 1 clash away at Olympique Lyonnais coming up on Sunday, Blanc was delighted that his players were not taken to extra time or penalties. Le President was also pleased with the result—a dominant performance with greater spirit—when he spoke with the press shortly after the final whistle.

"

We hold the title and we have our hearts set on defending it. So, tonight we had to beat Lille and therefore we're satisfied with the result. What pleased me the most was that we got the win and that we played good football on a tough pitch and against a tough side. Despite their aggressive pressing, especially in the second half, we stayed true to our philosophy, which is great because when you allow yourselves to be forced into playing your opponents' game, in general you not as good.

"

PSG set up to win the game, and that is exactly what they did. Many will bemoan their style and the way in which they claimed the victory, but with a cup final at stake, only the result mattered on the night.

Thanks to Maxwell, Les Parisiens have that result, and now they await the winner of Wednesday’s other semi-final between AS Monaco and SC Bastia at Stade Louis II.