Edinson Cavani's Improvement Leads PSG to Verge of Ligue 1 Title

On Friday night, Edinson Cavani scored his first-ever hat-trick for Paris Saint-Germain as they moved six points clear of Lyon at the top of Ligue 1. Their title rivals would then shockingly lose 3-0 to Caen on Saturday, leaving PSG just a single point from glory.

Jocelyn Gourvennec’s EA Guingamp failed to turn up in Paris, but with nothing to play for, it only took PSG three spells of sustained pressure to kill off the Breton club.

Recently, PSG’s quick starts have helped blow teams away. They scored within the first minute to start the 6-1 destruction of Lille, and on Friday, there were only two minutes on the clock when Cavani scored the opener.

The Parisian side would again go on to score six. Cavani was picked out by a quick Marco Verratti free-kick to fire in his third with 20 minutes to go. It showed a striker full of confidence, a stark contrast to some of the Uruguayan’s performances this season.

Thibault Camus/Associated Press

It was the first time since joining from Napoli in 2013 that Cavani had scored a hat-trick in Ligue 1 and took his tally for the season up to 16—matching last year’s total.

He has come under a lot of criticism this season, but his recent form has helped show just what he is capable of when he believes in himself.

Earlier in the week, quotes emerged from an interview with the French edition of GQ magazine (h/t Football Italia), and it painted a picture of a less-than-happy player. The Uruguayan claimed:

"

I would score many more goals if I played as a centre-forward.

When I arrived in Paris, I had to move to the flank, but people don’t understand how much that change influenced my performances.

I want to play as a centre-forward and in that position my performances would certainly improve. It is the role that I prefer, by a long shot.

Will I stay at PSG? I might, I might not. I don’t know what could happen.

"

During Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s recent ban, Cavani scored four goals in three games, adding weight to his argument, but his triple on Friday, plus a goal against Nantes, showed that he can function just as well with the Swede on the pitch.

The problems have not come with the formation itself, but rather a combination of Laurent Blanc’s rigid tactics and Cavani’s desire to find space in the final third.

For the past two seasons, Ibrahimovic has always dropped deep into the midfield to find space. That leaves a huge gap in the No. 9 position for Cavani to play through the middle.

At no point during his PSG career has Cavani been restricted to a place on the wing. When they are not in possession, Cavani is asked to cover on the flanks to keep the shape and protect the full-backs—something he does very well—but as soon as they have the ball, he is allowed all the freedom of the final third.

Against better opposition, such as Barcelona and Chelsea, PSG will see less of the ball, so it looks like he is playing on the wing more frequently, but the same freedom is awarded to him when going forward.

Javier Pastore’s upturn in form has helped Cavani find his best football again. Last season, with Ezequiel Lavezzi happy to set up camp out on the left, Cavani found it more comfortable assisting the attack from right to left.

Lucas Moura's emergence this campaign saw the Uruguayan move to the left, and he seemed less comfortable on that side of the pitch and much less willing to make the runs needed for the attack to flow.

Pastore’s wandering style, although it does bring some positional problems with Ibrahimovic, isn’t constrained to one side and helps Cavani pick where on the pitch he can place himself.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Cavani had gone 10 games in Ligue 1 without a goal since the turn of the year, but after rediscovering his ability to move dangerously without the ball, his return to goalscoring form has come at a crucial time for PSG.

Blanc hasn’t had to change his tactics to get the best out of Cavani. Perhaps the South American should concentrate more on his movement, rather than complaining about a problem that doesn’t exist.

PSG now only need one point from their last two games to win their third consecutive Ligue 1 title, and it is hard to look past Cavani’s goals as a huge catalyst in winning their title battle with Lyon.

Montpellier are the club’s next opponents, and no one would bet against Cavani being the man who scores the all-important goal next weekend.