PSG vs. Wiener Sportklub: Takeaways from Pre-Season Friendly
Paris Saint-Germain got their pre-season preparation underway with a straightforward 3-0 win over Wiener Sportklub in Austria on Sunday.
Laurent Blanc fielded about as strong a starting XI as possible for the clash at Wiener Sportklub Platz, with the likes of debutant Kevin Trapp, Serge Aurier, Lucas Digne, Maxwell, Jean-Christophe Bahebeck and Lucas Moura featuring from the off.
However, only one of those established names found the back of the net during the game.
Aurier’s second-half header added to a first-half double from attacker Jean-Kevin Augustin to ease PSG past Wiener.
Digne was in encouraging form at left-back, providing assists on all three goals as Les Parisiens ran out convincing winners as was expected.
PSG will now return to Paris for a few days before heading to the USA, where their non-South American international stars will join them for the start of this summer’s International Champions Cup (ICC).
Jean-Kevin Augustin Showing Early Pre-Season Promise
With the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani still on holiday, Augustin, Bahebeck, Moura and Hervin Ongenda were all given the chance to impress against Wiener.
Augustin seized that opportunity by scoring a brace, with one of his pair of strikes an excellent shot from distance after Digne found him following a mazy Moura dribble.
The 18-year-old is highly rated and signed his first professional contract back in February.
If Augustin can enjoy a good pre-season, then the versatile attacking talent could either earn a loan move that will guarantee him significant starting time this coming season or play his way into contention for a squad role with an enlarged UEFA Champions League squad in mind.
With Cavani not expected to link up with his teammates until midway through the ICC, Augustin could have earned himself a few extra chances in PSG’s early games in the USA with this encouraging display in front of goal.
Can Lucas Digne Still Save His PSG Career?
Since the end of last season, Digne has been expected to leave PSG before the start of the coming campaign in order to save his 2016 UEFA European Championship hopes.
However, the French champions are already back in pre-season action and no move away from Parc des Princes has materialised yet for the France international.
With Maxwell deployed as captain in central midfield because of Thiago Motta’s absence, Digne started at left-back and took his chance to impress Blanc with a productive display.
The 21-year-old laid on assists for all three goals. Two were excellent crosses for Augustin’s first and Aurier’s header, one low and the other high, while it was also his pass that set the former for his excellent finish from outside the box to make it 2-0.
Largely untested defensively, Digne impressed going forward and should look to build on this performance as pre-season continues.
Strong showings like this in the ICC could catch the eye of a number of teams, considering the prestigious nature of the opponents. However, it could also lead to a greater number of starting appearances early in the coming season for Digne.
Either way, the Frenchman’s future is not certain to lie away from Paris just yet, so he needs to continue putting in performances like these if he wants to strengthen his chances of breaking into PSG’s starting XI.
Calm PSG Debut For Kevin Trapp
All eyes were on Trapp in Austria as he took to the field in PSG colours for the first time.
The German goalkeeper was untested for the 67 minutes that he was on the pitch before being replaced by Mike Maignan, but he did deal with his one challenge with considerable ease.
Claiming a first-half corner was the extent of the work Trapp was asked to do in Austria on Sunday, something that Salvatore Sirigu often struggles to deal with convincingly.
Instead of punching the ball clear, as the Italian often does, the new signing authoritatively caught the ball to demonstrate one of Trapp’s clear advantages over his rival for the starting role this coming season.
Sirigu will be available to Blanc for PSG’s next game, a meeting with SL Benfica in Toronto for Les Parisiens’ ICC opener.
However, Trapp may well be preferred, as the Portuguese will likely work him harder than Wiener did in Austria.
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