At half-time, with the score at 0-0 in PSG’s Ligue 1 opener against Lille, Lucas Moura remained extremely confident his side could still run out victors, despite the fact Laurent Blanc’s charges were down to 10 men courtesy of Adrien Rabiot’s sending off on 28 minutes.

“PSG will win the game with 10,” proclaimed the Brazilian.

He was right, backing up his half-time comments emphatically as PSG went on to win 1-0 thanks to his outstanding goal.

Lucas’ strike was significant for both himself and the team, for it signaled his first league goal since January, plus it also propelled PSG to their first win away from home on the opening matchday in 19 years. It took one of the finest team goals you’re likely to witness to break the curse, but doing it in the faceof such adversity certainly made it all the more special.

“It’s my characteristics to run with the ball at my feet and make the difference. I’m very happy I scored and we won 3 points,” he said after
the match.

Starting the contest as PSG’s left winger, Lucas’ intelligent movement and positioning allowed him to thrive throughout. His clever, subtle variations proved too much for Lille to handle, with his ability to identify space, even in the smallest pockets, being a key feature of his work.

While the former Sao Paulo starlet also enjoyed plenty of success when hugging the touchline, where upon obtaining possession he could then isolate himself in 1v1 scenarios with Lille’s inexperienced, 19-year-old fullback Benjamin Pavard, his genius when opting to drift infield was without question the avenue that bore the most fruit for him.

Lucas was always scanning for openings. Whether looking to exploit the half spaces in between Pavard and Renato Civelli (Lille’s right back and right sided centre back), Civelli and Ibrahim Amadou (Lille’s two centre backs) or in and around Les Dogues’ holding midfield pairing of Rio Mavuba
and Florent Balmont, the electric attacker’s movement wreaked so much havoc for the opposition.

His infield forays also effectively made space for his fullback, Maxwell, to surge into, which in turn forced Pavard to mark Maxwell, thus successfully dragging Lucas’ direct opponent away from him. This inherently meant Lucas had the required freedom to roam into central areas, often unimpeded, and make a nuisance of himself.

Once in possession, the 22-year-old called on his wicked technical ability to turn sharply and run at his adversaries. Due to his smart work to get into central areas, when he received the ball the field was open for him to do whatever he pleased. And he did just that. On top of embarking on some sublime dribbles, he linked up beautifully in tight spaces and distributed the ball astutely into the wide areas where there were always
plentiful options.

Blanc chose to deploy Lucas on the right wing for the second half, and although last season’s league champions were largely forced to play on the counter due to Lille having the numerical supremacy, the winger who wears the number seven still influenced the contest heavily by using the aforementioned modes of operation.

It came as little surprise, then, that the away side’s decisive goal was instigated by Lucas’ buzzing movement.

Here, after sneaking into the space to the right of Mavuba, Thiago Motta had the awareness to hit him up. Lucas then turned away sharply from Mavuba and subsequently found Edinson Cavani, who played a neat one touch pass to Blaise Matuidi. Noticing Lucas had continued his run forward, Matuidi slid an inch-perfect first time ball right through the heart of the defence and into Lucas’ path. Still with plenty of work to do, the man capped 31 times for his country masterfully rounded the formidable Vincent Enyeama to coolly finish. It was a sequence so brilliant that it will surely be a goal of the season contender. Lucas’ quality was stamped all over it, his tremendous capabilities shown off magnificently.

To add a futher layer of variety, on the odd occasion the bearded Lucas would push upfield alongside Cavani into positions that resembled that of a traditional centre forward. He’d hover around laterally in these situations, while his defenders and midfielders cycled possession. But once he saw Thiago Silva acquire possession, he was off, knowing his countrymen would look to ping a long ball over the top for him to latch onto, thereby catching the Lille backline off guard and potentially getting into a scoring position.

Although no goals eventuated from the tactic, it was nonetheless an unpredictable and very promising strategy that caught out the Lille backline many times. It made perfect sense, for if Lucas did latch onto the ball, his speed would’ve made him an uncatchable proposition.

All things considered, Lucas’ man of the match performance gave a distinct indication as to just why the club were willing to shell out a staggering €45 million to acquire his services back in 2012, with his capacity to change a game in an instant illustrating what an indispensable player he can be on his day. And that’s the povital caveat with him, on his day he’s unplayable, but finding consistency has been a struggle for him since moving to the French capital.

In fairness to the Brazilian, injuries, adjusting to life in a colder climate and becoming accustomed to a different tactical approach have all combined to play a role in him being unable to persistently perform at his best.

“The most difficult in the beginning was the cold,” he explained. “I arrived in France in the middle of winter and that year it snowed a lot.

“In Brazil, we’re not used to it. When I arrived, it was minus seven degrees. So I played and trained in gloves and two pairs of pants – which is tough to move in!

“The tactical side of the game is also part of the difficulty here because the system is very different to Brazil. Every movement must be perfect, which we’re not used to.”

Last season proved a breakthrough, though, where his encouraging displays demonstrated he might be on the cusp of completely turning the corner and fulfilling his undoubted potential to become a bonafide superstar.

Now adapted to life in Paris and having overcome some major setbacks, which also included him missing the 2014 World Cup as a result of poor form and the 2015 Copa America due to injury, the upcoming campaign looms as a hugely important stage in his career at PSG.

Signing a new contract until 2019 underlined his determination to succeed at the European powerhouse. If his magnificent start to the new season is
anything to go by, there’s no reason to suggest he can’t do just that and evolve into a truly world-class player.

It’s now time for Lucas to seize his opportunity and deliver.

About the author:

Edward Stratmann writes regularly about the on-field aspects of the game, with a particular focus on tactics and analysis. In addition to featuring on These Football Times, Inside Spanish Football, Anfield Index, Just Football, The Eagles Beak, Think Football Ideas and JuveFC, you can also find Edward’s work at Licence to Roam, a football blog he started with his brother in 2013.

@licencetoroam

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