Who is PSG’s Player of the Season so far?
Robin Bairner
- 20 Dec 2021 17:36 GMT
- 3 min read
Paris Saint-Germain have experienced, on the face of it, a strong start to the season.
Putting aside the claims that the team lack style and have been too reliant on individual performances, they are running away with the Ligue 1 title and find themselves in the last-16 of the Champions League, having negotiated a potentially awkward group.
In the background, meanwhile, there has been an incessant hum over the future of Kylian Mbappe, who appears destined to leave for Real Madrid, while head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s future continues to be called into question.
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Achraf Hakimi
Signed in the summer for big money from Inter, Hakimi might not have been PSG’s highest-profile arrival, but he has certainly been their most expensive. And while Lionel Messi has struggled – he has scored only one Ligue 1 goal this season – flying right-back Hakimi has generally been impressive.
The Morocco international has impressed by scoring three goals and setting up two more in 17 league matches, providing a thrilling offensive outlet down his channel.
His efforts have been tempered slightly in recent weeks as Pochettino has offered a more conservative outlook for his team, in which the 23-year-old is invited to be less expansive.
Nevertheless, it has been a solid start to his PSG career at a club where hitting the ground running is a major advantage.
Marquinhos
Arguably the world’s outstanding central defender, Marquinhos continues to provide PSG with a great deal of assurance from the heart of a defence that has been ever changing this season. Increasingly, too, he is providing his team with the type of inspiration that Sergio Ramos once did at Real Madrid.
Marquinhos continues to chip in with key goal, netting against Lille and Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1 clashes, while at times it has felt that he has been the only central defender capable of doing his role thoroughly for the club this term.
Without him, PSG would be a far poorer side.
Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe may have been dogged by uncertainty over his future, with a move to Real Madrid apparently destined, but the 23-year-old attacker continues to excel with the club.
He has been moved into a more central role this season, which does not necessarily suit him as much as playing in the wider areas. Nevertheless, his numbers are formidable.
In 24 matches, he has already racked up an astonishing 17 assists, while he has scored 15 goals to boot.
These statistics do not, however, do justice to how important Mbappe’s contribution has been to PSG. When they have been struggling and in need of a moment of magic to unlock a game, the World Cup winner has nearly always provided it.
There can be little doubt that he has been PSG’s ace.
