PSG vs. Toulouse: Winners and Losers from Ligue 1
Angel Di Maria’s free-kick after just six minutes began Paris Saint-Germain's 5-0 rout over Toulouse at the Parc des Princes on Saturday evening.
Any hopes the away side had of keeping the game tight were banished when the Argentine’s searching free-kick missed everyone, with Ali Ahamada only able to watch as the ball found the far corner.
Twelve minutes later, the game was put to bed when Zlatan Ibrahimovic took advantage of some awful defending from Marcel Tisserand to head in the second.
Lucas Moura came on and scored the third—and set up the fourth for Ibrahimovic—before Ezequiel Lavezzi finished off the five-star performance.
Here are the winners and losers from PSG’s 5-0 win over Toulouse.
Winner: Lucas Moura
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Brought on with 28 minutes to go, Lucas Moura gave PSG more urgency in attack and it was no surprise to see him involved in two goals within his first 12 minutes on the pitch.
After a positive run, he popped up at the far post to head in Gregory van der Wiel's header to make it 3-0, then he did all the work for Zlatan's second.
"Lucas on for Cavani and does more in 2 mins than Cavani did in an hour, starting and finishing a move.
— Jeremy Smith (@jeremysmith98) November 7, 2015"
Again, the Brazilian went charging through the centre, showing pace and skill.
His shot was saved low by Ali Ahamada and Zlatan was there to provide the finishing touch.
He may have started the season slowly, but now Moura is really pressuring Edinson Cavani for a starting spot in the PSG attack.
Losers: Toulouse Centre-Backs
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When you are struggling near the bottom of the league, taking on the best team in France, you need to do the simple things well.
It's safe to say that Toulouse failed to adhere to that mantra on Saturday.
Le Tefece were already 1-0 down when Marcel Tisserand completely messed up a routine header in the first half, knocking the ball straight into the path of Ibrahimovic—putting the Parisians 2-0 up.
"belle passe dess du toulousain pic.twitter.com/1LILOS5C9O
— philippe (@philousports) November 7, 2015"
Not to be outdone, Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik gifted PSG their fifth goal on a silver platter.
Ibrahimovic played a routine ball towards the goal and the defender made an absolute meal of the clearance, allowing Lavezzi to step in and finish off the scoring.
Winner: Adrien Rabiot
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Adrien Rabiot showed against Real Madrid that he was able to play a leading role in the PSG midfield. On Saturday, he showed that it wasn’t a one-off.
Powerful, forward-thinking runs that drove the team forward with intelligent passing helped replace the influence of the missing Marco Verratti.
Additionally, it was Rabiot's run in the first half that won the free-kick for the opening goal.
"Adrien Rabiot: stepping into the Verratti role perfectly tonight. #PSG via @StatsZone pic.twitter.com/OkCVhZdJep
— FFW (@FrenchFtWeekly) November 7, 2015"
They will always be weaker without Verratti, but Rabiot stepped into his shoes perfectly.
Loser: Edinson Cavani
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On Tuesday, against Real Madrid, Edinson Cavani didn’t have the best of games—missing a clear cut chance at the end of the first half.
Against Toulouse on Saturday, he wasn’t much better.
The game all but passed him by in the first half, only touching the ball 21 times, compared to 20 times of Toulouse forward Martin Braithwaite on the opposite side. This was even more disappointing when you consider how little of the ball Toulouse saw in the opening 45 minutes.
"Only 21 touches for Cavani at HT. One more than Braithwaite for #TFC. Says it all with the away side having 24% of the ball @WhoScored
— FFW (@FrenchFtWeekly) November 7, 2015"
One good shot in the second half was followed by him falling over. It wasn't his night and manager Laurent Blanc replaced him on the 62nd minute.
