How Lucas Moura Can Prove He's an Ace in the Pack for PSG Once More

Since the turn of the year, Paris Saint-Germain forward Lucas Moura has started only six games, appearing on the pitch for just 561 minutes. He has exceeded his goalscoring tally from last season, but injuries have stopped enjoying the successful season many predicted.

He will now have to wait until next season to show just how good a player he has become at PSG, but if he stays fit, he will undoubtedly be an ace in the pack for them as they now look to win their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title.

Injury in the 2-2 draw with Caen in February ruled him out of playing part of the club’s Champions League success over Chelsea. With only four appearances since, it has severely hampered his season.

It was a huge blow because he had been enjoying an excellent campaign. This season, some of the best football PSG have played has come when Zlatan Ibrahimovic has missed game time—through injury or suspension—and Lucas was able to link up with Edison Cavani and Javier Pastore.

This wasn’t just down to the Swede’s absence, but for the tweak that Laurent Blanc made to the formation, something he has been criticised for not doing enough.

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Blanc’s adapted system earlier in the season saw Pastore play in the No. 10 role in front of the typical three-man PSG midfield, with Edinson Cavani and Lucas Moura playing as a central duo with license to pull wide and make runs to flank the same in reverse.

During Zlatan’s ban, PSG showed the same elements of that attack in the three games he missed and proved that it wasn’t just because of Lucas, but due to a mixture of the squad and Ibrahimovic’s suspension.

Playing with three mobile and creative forwards creates more options for the Parisians, and during the end of Zlatan’s first injury spell, they showed major signs of moving on without him.

This season, injury problems and this summer’s World Cup has meant that rarely has Blanc been able to pick from a full-strength squad, it may have hampered their early-season form, but a few players have been able to take advantage of the opportunity.

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Last season, Lucas was played mostly as a winger. He battled with Ezequiel Lavezzi for a place on the left of PSG’s three-man attack, and for a 21-year-old, it wasn’t the most disastrous campaign, but at times he lacked consistency and a cutting-edge when it mattered most.

As PSG strode toward their second straight Ligue 1 title, Lucas, according to official league stats, finished with 10 assists. That’s only one less than the mercurial Ibrahimovic managed that season. All those injuries and suspensions have added up, and the two players have made only 10 assists combined this season.

The biggest criticism toward Lucas was his lack of a clinical edge in front of goal. He finished the season with five goals in 36 appearances, averaging a goal every 387 minutes.

This season, his goal against goal away at Bastia in January was his seventh of the season, beating last year’s total but indicating just how far he could have gone.

Blanc could be tempted to return to the 4-3-3 for both this season and next, but playing Lucas Moura in a free-flowing 4-3-1-2—either in the attack or as the top two—would give PSG a real edge up forward. Forget about Zlatan Ibrahimovic and add Lucas and Pastore to the attack with Edinson Cavani, and you have three players who can do it all.

You have the creator's spark of Pastore, the finishing and hard work of Cavani, plus the Brazilian firecracker—the player who not only brings it all together, but plays with pace and skill that Ligue 1 defenders struggle to contain.

Use him in the right way next season, and Lucas could be Ligue 1’s Player of the Year. Play him in a counterproductive way, and not only will PSG have to look for a Plan C or D, but they will have ruined a player with unlimited potential.