Edinson Cavani Blows Chance of Starting Against Chelsea in 0-0 Draw with Lille

On Saturday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain were held goalless by Lille in a 0-0 draw at the Parc des Princes. After losing 6-1 in the same fixture last season, the away side will be delighted with the result, but for the hosts, it was more a chance to rest key players before Tuesday’s battle with Chelsea in the Champions League.

"Despite the result, I'm very happy, especially with the attitude,” Blanc told PSG’s official website after the game:

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It's a strange feeling not to win at the Parc des Princes, because we've been winning our matches for a while now. I think, tonight, we could have won as well. We created a number of good chances, but Lady Luck wasn't on our side. The players have been programmed for next week. We planned certain changes and we made them and we didn't have any serious injuries tonight.

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It was clear from Blanc’s team selection that his mind was fixed on Tuesday’s game. Only four players that started against Lille on Saturday would be expected to feature against Chelsea—although Serge Aurier may have ruined his chances of playing after his antics on Saturday evening, per French football expert Julien Laurens.

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the stands and Lucas Moura on the bench, there was a chance for Edinson Cavani to stake a claim for a starting spot on Tuesday, but the Uruguayan—as he has so often—failed to take his opportunity.

His poor performance was highlighted in the second half when he missed a superb chance to give the home side the lead. Vincent Enyeama made an uncharacteristic error when he failed to punch clear a cross, the ball fell to Cavani, but he blazed his left foot shot over the bar.

According to WhoScored.com, Cavani earned the worst score (5.8) out of any player that started the game. He had fewer touches of the ball than Kevin Trapp, the goalkeeper, and Lucas Moura and Marco Verratti, who came off the bench.

Too often, Blanc’s tactics and Cavani playing out of position is blamed for his poor displays, but when you actually watch games where he plays as the No. 9, it’s clear that he is just lacking the ability and confidence to lead the line for PSG.

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Brazilian winger Lucas has to start against Chelsea on Tuesday, with Angel Di Maria on the right and Ibrahimovic as the starting striker. Saturday was Cavani’s chance to force Blanc to change his mind, and the striker did nothing.

Lucas has only started once in the Champions League this season, that was against Shakhtar Donetsk and he both scored and picked up an assist. This is the perfect time for the 23-year-old to step up and make himself a consistent starter for the Parisians. He’ll never get a better chance than to make an impact against Chelsea.

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One positive from the game was the return of Verratti, coming on for the entire second half, and the Italian was delighted to get back on the field:

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I'm very happy to be back on the pitch and I felt good out there, and I didn't have any pain, but I'm obviously disappointed with the result. It was a very difficult match, and Lille defended very well. For our part, we had a number of good chances to score but we didn't take them. Now we will do everything to start preparing for Tuesday's match against Chelsea.

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It is unclear whether he will be fit enough to start the match midweek, but you have to believe that Blanc will do everything in their power to get the 23-year-old in the starting lineup—there’s more chance of Verratti playing 45 minutes, than Cavani has of playing from the start.