PSG's Lucas Moura Shines in International Champions Cup Penalty Loss to Chelsea
Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first defeat of this summer’s International Champions Cup (ICC) on Saturday with a 6-5 penalty shootout loss to Chelsea after a 1-1 draw in normal time in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Laurent Blanc’s men came into the clash at Bank of America Stadium on the back of two wins in as many games in North America, after victories over SL Benfica and Fiorentina. Jose Mourinho’s men posed a much tougher challenge, though, and helped Les Parisiens to produce a very physical encounter for pre-season game.
Blanc was pleased with his side's display over the minutes though, as Le President revealed to PSG.fr after the final whistle.
"It was a good warm-up match even if we're in a competitive tournament with big teams from Europe and America where we have to try and get the best result possible. Today, I thought we played very well in passages, where our playing philosophy was evident in both the first and the second half. Certain players got some playing time after returning from the Copa America and today was their first match. We didn't pick up any injuries, so all of that adds up to a good night, apart from the result where there really wasn't much in it, but Chelsea are a very good team.
"
Victor Moses’ second-half leveller cancelled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first-half opener, before Thibaut Courtois became Chelsea’s hero in the penalty shootout. The Belgium international saved Jean-Christophe Bahebeck and Thiago Silva’s spot kicks, before thumping away his own to seal the win.
It was not a totally futile exercise for PSG; the Blues gave the French champions their toughest test yet this pre-season, and Blanc was able to take the chance to slowly reintroduce some of his South American stars after their Copa America exertions.
Exciting youth academy graduate Jean-Kevin Augustin continued to impress, putting in another strong display. It was the talented 18-year-old French attacker’s tricky turn and shot that hit the post and provided Ibrahimovic with the chance to score his second goal in as many ICC games.
However, Augustin was not the only PSG player who will be talked about post-match by those who were at Bank of America Stadium. Another South American, although one who did not participate in this summer’s Copa America, also will have caught the eye.
It has been a difficult past 12 months or so for Lucas Moura.
Firstly, the Brazilian missed out on a place in the final squad for the FIFA World Cup on home soil last summer after an inconsistent 2013-14 season, and then the 22-year-old also failed to make the cut for this year’s Copa America after an injury-hit 2014-15 campaign.
This pre-season, Lucas is working his way back to full fitness so that he can pick up where he left off when he got injured back in mid-February in a 2-2 home draw with Stade Malherbe Caen.
Moura’s display against Chelsea in Charlotte suggested that the Selecao star is starting to get back to full match fitness ahead of the new season.
After failing to impress but still scoring a penalty in the 3-2 win over Benfica in Toronto, the Brazilian looked better in the 4-2 triumph against Fiorentina in New Jersey, crossing in for Ibrahimovic to score in the second half.
However, Lucas’ performance against Chelsea—albeit goalless and without an assist—was far more impressive than either of his displays so far this tournament.
Moura was back to doing what he does best: running with the ball at pace, exciting the fans with his skills, technique and energy as well as trying his luck a number of shots from different areas to test Chelsea goalkeepers Asmir Begovic and later Courtois.
The South American’s speed unsettled the Blues’ back line and gave both sets of fans a glimpse of what might have been had the Samba star been fit enough to feature in either of the two legs of the pair’s UEFA Champions League last-16 clash earlier this year.
It was not a totally perfect outing for Lucas though; he passed up a brilliant chance in the second half that he really should have scored—or at least hit the target with—which is something that surely frustrated the former Sao Paulo man.
The spurned opening was the sort of opportunity that Moura is too often guilty of passing up with PSG, and the Selecao star will need to keep working on that this pre-season. Considering the increased competition for places he could find at Parc des Princes this coming campaign, he’ll need to be more ruthless.
However, overall, Lucas was one of the two best for Les Parisiens on the day and can take heart from his showing.
Moura proved over the first half of last term how important a strong pre-season was for his form, so a few more displays like this one will be needed before Blanc’s men depart North America at the start of August.
Bleacher Report is Official Media Partner of the International Champions Cup North America.
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