PSG Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp Must Be Questioned After Latest Error in Lyon Rout
Paris Saint-Germain are now 17 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 after a 5-1 mauling of last season’s runners-up Olympique Lyonnais at Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (two), Serge Aurier, Edinson Cavani and substitute Lucas Moura scored the goals as the French champions brushed aside a depleted OL outfit. Laurent Blanc’s men are now unbeaten in their last 27 games in Le Championnat, equalling their best run of league form from back in 1994.
Le President admitted to PSG.fr after the final whistle that he was delighted, especially with the way his players raised their game in the second half after a disappointing end to the second 45.
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"We played very well. The only negative was our last 20 minutes of the first half, when we played more individually than as a team. Fortunately the players rectified things in the second half. Well done to them!
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The only blemish on Blanc’s evening will have been the terrible error committed by goalkeeper Kevin Trapp to allow Jordan Ferri to halve the two-goal deficit in the 24th minute of the encounter in Paris.
Following the Lyon man’s well-hit—although not especially testing—effort from distance, the German shot-stopper inexplicably palmed the ball up over his own head and into the back of the PSG net.
Trapp did his best to keep the ball out of the goal, but it was already over the line by the time the 25-year-old got his hand to it to claw it away. From that moment on, every simple touch of the ball by Les Parisiens’ No. 16 was greeted with ironic jeers and applause from the Parc des Princes crowd.
Had PSG been losing the match, the atmosphere in the French capital would have been far more unforgiving. However, with PSG 2-1 ahead and soon to stretch their lead, the home supporters were not as bloodthirsty as they could have been on another day.
That is now three major mistakes committed by Trapp in just over four months of action with Blanc’s men.
First was his howler for Girondins de Bordeaux’s second equaliser in the 2-2 draw in Paris back in early September, then was his gaffe in last month’s 1-0 UEFA Champions League defeat away at Real Madrid—which essentially decided Group A—and now this.
On top of those three blunders, Trapp was not exactly blameless for Bordeaux’s first equaliser and could also have done better for ESTAC Troyes’ consolation goal in the 4-1 home win in late November.
Regardless of how many smaller errors the former Eintracht Frankfurt man has made between the sticks so far for PSG, none of his howlers have been as costly as the glaring mistake he made at Santiago Bernabeu to gift Real their 1-0 win.
In many ways, the Ligue 1 leaders should have expected this. Trapp, as promising a young goalkeeper as he is, had only played in one UEFA Europa League campaign with former club Frankfurt.
The step up in quality from the German Bundesliga outfit to the ambitious French giants—not to mention the greater expectations as well—was huge, and the starting goalkeeper’s role was not a position that the German was just going to walk into.
Trapp should arguably have been gradually introduced to the starting XI and not immediately thrust into it at the expense of deposed former No. 1 Salvatore Sirigu.
The nature of the Italy international’s fall from Blanc’s favour created another ugly situation away from the pitch, but the decision also increased the already substantial pressure on the inexperienced former Germany under-21 international.
That said, Blanc has made his choice as to who is his starting goalkeeper of choice, and he now has to stick with it. However, that does not mean that the 50-year-old tactician should not question Trapp after his latest mistake.
According to Le Parisien (h/t Football-Italia), Blanc intended to give Sirigu a rare start in PSG’s 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk last Tuesday. The Azzurri star and the Frenchman eventually took the mutual decision for the 28-year-old to not play so that a possible January move was not jeopardised.
It appears that Sirigu is almost certainly on his way out of Parc des Princes during next month’s transfer window, but for now, he remains a player for the capital outfit.
With no threat of cup-tying the Italian by playing him in the Coupe de la Ligue round-of-16 clash with AS Saint-Etienne on Wednesday, Blanc should give the former Palermo man a chance and leave Trapp to reflect on his latest error.
Assuming that Sirigu plays well against Les Verts, the PSG coach could also extend Trapp’s absence from the starting XI by giving the man from Nuoro just his second Ligue 1 start this season. That would give the German something to consider going into 2016.
Trapp deserved the benefit of the doubt after his mistakes against Bordeaux and Real, but after a third gaffe in less than half a season, Blanc must take some sort of action this time to address the issue, and taking his goalkeeper out of the firing line might not be the worst choice this time.
Despite the multiple howlers Trapp has had to endure so far this season, it is clear why Blanc likes his summer signing. The PSG No. 16 is good in the air—an area Sirigu is less convincing in—and he is also very adept with the ball at his feet, which are two key characteristics Le President looks for in his shot-stoppers.
It is not only Blanc who rates Trapp, either. The player’s first call-up to the senior Germany national team for the ill-fated friendlies against France and the Netherlands last month shows that Joachim Low and Andreas Kopke are also fans of the former Frankfurt captain.
However, PSG’s handling of their goalkeeping situation was rightly criticised after Trapp was signed in the summer, and the French champions have failed to deal with the issue since.
Blanc needs to settle the affair in January, and the most sensible decision appears to be allowing Sirigu to go ahead with a move—be it on loan or permanent—and allowing Nicolas Douchez to assume his familiar role of substitute once more.
The veteran Frenchman has been the quiet victim so far in Trapp-Sirigu situation, and the 35-year-old does not deserve to be made to sit through an entire season of football as a third-choice goalkeeper.
Blanc must handle this delicate situation with care and not make any rash decisions, but Trapp’s latest error cannot pass without comment—and possibly action—from his coach.
Long-term, the German taking stock of current circumstances and ironing out any major underlying issues could be the making—or breaking—of him in Paris.
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