Reims (AFP)
Contrasting evening for Marquinhos Wednesday in Reims: aligned in central defense with the captain's armband, he put Paris SG on the path to the final of the League Cup by opening the scoring, before leaving injured in the second half.
Less than a month from the Champions League first knockout round on the lawn of Borussia Dortmund, the 25-year-old Brazilian asked to be replaced in the 69th minute, perhaps hit by adductors.
This injury, if it turned out to be serious, would be a big blow for the player, who has just extended with PSG until 2024, but especially for the Parisian club.
Until this premature exit, "Marqui" had achieved a very solid performance in central defense, his favorite position where his coach Thomas Tuchel does not however often align him because he considers him rather as a N.6.
"He is used to this position (middle) and he has gained confidence. He likes to play there because he can always have an influence on the match," said the German technician at the start of the season.
"We can see that his potential is incredible, he can play at the same level in defense and in six. He has no limit. Marquinhos is full," praised the German to justify his choice.
- Scorer and solid -
Wednesday on the very oily lawn of the Auguste-Delaune stadium, Marquinhos moved on the right side of the Parisian axis, in the absence of his compatriot Thiago Silva, left to rest. And whoever said at the end of November to AFP wanting to "become the best defender in the world" quickly placed PSG on the path to the Stade de France.
On a corner of Neymar, the Parisian captain rose much higher than the Zimbabwean midfielder Marshall Munetsi and scored with a nice dive head which surprised the Reims goalkeeper Pedrag Rajkovic, who had hesitated to leave to release the ball ( 9).
Not content with having opened the scoring, the native of Sao Paulo was also involved in the second goal of Paris: on a free kick from Neymar, the Brazilian international jumped again very high and pretended to touch the ball of the hand, annoying Romao. He turned his head towards his goal the ball, which ended its run in the Reims nets despite the desperate intervention of Konan (31st).
Defensively, Marquinhos also held the barracks and was still impassable. He was never caught out by the restless attackers of Reims, like this action in the area where he defended very well in front of Moussa Doumbia, forcing the Malian to trigger a harmless shot (64th).
In 271 matches played in the Paris jersey (21 goals, 7 assists), the Auriverde international has already won 19 trophies. And after the easy Parisian success Wednesday in Reims (3-0), he will have the opportunity to win a 20th in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue against Lyon on April 4 at the Stade de France.
© 2020 AFP