Paris (AFP)
Opposite trajectories in the defense of the Blues this weekend: Raphaël Varane shone again to add to his record a Spanish Super Cup. His partner at the hinge of the 2018 World Cup, Samuel Umtiti, lost him points with Barcelona, like Kurt Zouma, replacing with Chelsea.
In Spain, or rather in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, where the Supercup took place between Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Valencia CF, Varane was again illustrated.
The defender took advantage of the first title of the Real season on Sunday to highlight, and establish his place as a defensive prisoner with the Blues.
Riding on his excellent winter and a very good start to the year 2020, where he gave the victory to the Madrilenians on the field of Getafe (3-0) with a counter-camp goal provoked and a goal scored by the head, Varane (26, 64, 5 goals with the Blues) was again one of the architects of the new title of winner of the Spanish Super Cup gleaned by the "White House" Sunday on the shores of the Red Sea: " Serious in defense, he was even forced to launch actions from the bottom of the field. Another good match, "commented the Spanish daily Marca on Monday.
- Zouma, a concern? -
Eliminated from the Supercup with Barça against Atlético Thursday (3-2) after a crazy match, Samuel Umtiti missed his opportunity to stand out. Established in place of Clément Lenglet, who stole his place with the Blues, "Sam" was unable to keep afloat a Catalan defense at bay in the last quarter of an hour.
It becomes difficult for the world champion defender, especially as another competitor, Aymeric Laporte, is approaching a return to competition with Manchester City after a serious knee injury.
Another defender has to worry: after several disappointing performances at Chelsea, Kurt Zouma was installed on the bench by his coach Frank Lampard on Saturday against Burnley (3-0), the English preferring the German Antonio Rüdiger and the Dane Andreas Christensen.
Among the Blues' attackers, on the other hand, the lights are green.
Antoine Griezmann (28, 78 years old) was very active in the offensive animation, making people forget his lack of connection with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez observed at the start of the season. He even scored a goal for Barça before the Colchoneros' comeback. And with Suarez's injury for several months, his playing time will not be able to decrease, and he could be tenured more often in the line of attack.
- Ben Yedder better than Mbappé -
Monaco striker Wissam Ben Yedder continued to impress him this weekend, even winning his long distance duel against Kylian Mbappé. The new Monaco coach Robert Moreno was quick to figure out how to use it. At Parc des Princes against PSG (3-3), the former Sévillan was brilliant: he scored his 14th goal of the season in Ligue 1 and also sent a decisive pass. The top scorer in the championship delivered a much more solid performance than that of Mbappé, a little lost on the other side of the field.
Coach Didier Deschamps, who has called Ben Yedder systematically since May, can only be satisfied with this situation, while the future of Olivier Giroud, the usual incumbent in peak but lack of playing time at Chelsea, is still not clarified despite discussions with Inter Milan according to several media.
Deschamps has no doubt also had an eye on Manchester United, where another leading attacker candidate shone. Anthony Martial, scorer against Norwich (4-0) with a head full of aggressiveness, continues to progress in this register of N.9. Here he has five goals in less than a month.
Finally, bad news came to tarnish the weekend: the midfielder of Chelsea N'Golo Kanté, already not spared from injuries this season, had to forfeit a glitch in the hamstrings. And without him, the Blues were convincing.
© 2020 AFP