Highlight Machine Edinson Cavani Not Enough for PSG to Win the Champions League

Edinson Cavani never has a quiet game. 

Since gaining widespread attention in his superhuman Napoli days, when he scored 104 goals in 138 games, Cavani has been the subject of constant debate. 

A €64 million move to Paris Saint-Germain made him the sixth-most expensive footballer in history, and yet he was only considered the supporting act in his first three years in France. 

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic monopolising attention, Cavani most often grabbed attention for his high-profile misses than for his goals. 

This season, though, with Ibrahimovic having departed for Manchester United, he has struck 18 times in 17 appearances in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. 

His performance in the win over Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday was the perfect encapsulation of his strengths and weaknesses. 

From three shots on goal, Cavani scored twice. 

His goals won Paris the game, ending a long winless run at the Parc OL, and extended his lead as Ligue 1's leading scorer.  

He now has 13 league goals at a remarkable rate of one every 55 minutes. 

According to RMC (in French), no Ligue 1 player has had more goals at this point in the season since 1990. 

In fact, by this stage last term, Ibrahimovic had only 10 goals. He went on to reach a half-century in his final campaign with Paris. 

One of Cavani's goals against Lyon was a penalty, but spot-kicks are often unfairly undermined as a reflection of a forward's quality. 

While nobody would argue that a penalty takes as much skill as a goal from open play, it requires mental strength that is not without value. 

If his opener was unremarkable, his second underscored just how good he can be. 

Rising to meet Thomas Meunier's excellent cross, Cavani placed his header beyond the reach of the diving Anthony Lopes. 

In a high-pressure situation, Cavani exploited his team-mates' excellent play and secured a crucial three points for the champions. 

His only other official attempt came in the 53rd minute, when he produced an exquisite piece of chest control to take down a pass from Serge Aurier.

His shot was blocked, but the technique to control the ball was outrageous. 

Perhaps his most impressive moment of the match came when Marco Verratti scooped a high ball into the box and Cavani chested the ball into the air before producing a brilliant overhead kick.

His shot beat Lopes in the Lyon goal, but the whistle had already blown for offside. 

While his highlights were solid, Cavani spent the majority of the game utterly uninvolved. 

After playing a first-time pass in the second minute, Cavani did not touch the ball again until the 22nd despite Paris virtually monopolising possession in that period. 

His oft-praised movement is valuable, but against a deep-set defence, it is less effective. 

He can be marshalled by physical defenders, and his wastefulness is legendary at this point. 

His lack of aggressiveness off the ball makes him a liability to a defensive press. Vague jogging in the direction of the ball-carrier is insufficient for the first line of defence. 

Cavani's most concerning weakness is not his profligacy but the fact that he contributes nothing beyond his goals. 

His only assist this season was for Angel Di Maria's opening goal in the 3-0 Champions League win against Basel. In truth, it was a heavy touch from Cavani that Di Maria volleyed into the net. 

There can be no consideration of Cavani's value to PSG without comparison to his predecessor as the club's key forward. 

In three of his four seasons in Paris, Ibrahimovic produced more assists than Cavani has managed in his entire career in the French capital. 

The Uruguayan's passing is below par, and his ability to produce chances for his team-mates is almost nonexistent.

Robert Lewandowski creates comparably little for his Bayern Munich team-mates but is a far more reliable goalscorer. 

If Paris' aspiration was merely a continued dominance of French domestic football, Cavani would be more than sufficient. But the club is aiming to win in Europe. 

The hiring of manager Unai Emery was avowedly made with the Champions League in mind, and the failure to progress beyond the quarter-finals in three attempts is what cost his predecessor Laurent Blanc his job. 

With that in mind, Cavani is not enough. 

Often, criticism of a player, or observations of their limitations, is interpreted without the nuance required. 

Cavani is an excellent player; there can be little doubt about that.

What he is not is a player of the requisite quality to lead a team to a Champions League triumph. 

The European Cup is not won by accident. 

Francois Mori/Associated Press

Even Chelsea, whose 2012 triumph was the least likely in recent memory, had Didier Drogba leading their attack. 

Cavani could play a useful role in a Champions League-winning team, but he cannot be the focal point as he is for PSG. 

When Bayern won their fifth European Cup in 2013, Mario Mandzukic led their attack. 

Certainly, no one has ever accused Mandzukic of being a world-class forward, but his physicality and aggression complemented the superstar supporting line of Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

Emery is building a team for the future, but Cavani cannot be the catalyst for their European aspirations. 

Nor indeed can academy graduate Jean-Kevin Augustin, the only other true forward in his squad. 

Paris must look further afield. 

While a satisfactory replacement cannot realistically be sought in January, the squad can be augmented then before a more permanent solution is found next summer. 

No transfer fee is beyond the Parisians, but the Parc des Princes remains a secondary destination for Europe's top players. 

When Italy manager Giampiero Ventura suggested that Verratti should leave Ligue 1 to seek a higher level of competition, according to Sky Italia (via ESPN), it struck a nerve.

PSG have not yet managed to become the transcendent club that the ownership hopes for, and for that reason, recruitment will remain a challenge.  

FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images

Antoine Griezmann would be a dream signing.

His contributions on the pitch would only be matched by his commercial value off it. 

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to convince him to leave Atletico Madrid for France rather than the many Premier League clubs who will likely be eyeing him next summer. 

There are no obvious solutions to Paris' problem, but it is clear that Cavani is not up to the job.