Why Camavinga's five star performance against PSG is bad news for Pogba

FT Desk

• Updated: 10 Mar 2022 13:58 CST
• 6 min read

The moment things turned in Real Madrid’s favour in Wednesday's fateful Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain came in the 57th minute of the match.

After a real slog in the first half and more of the same in the opening stages of the second half, Carlo Ancelotti decided to shake things up to give his Madrid side more control.

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Two key substitutions were all it took to do exactly that. One was the arrival of forward Rodrygo for a relatively ineffective Marco Asensio and the other was young midfielder Eduardo Camavinga to replace a tired and slow elder statesman in Toni Kroos.

Although at the time it didn’t seem like a huge tactical shift, the difference it made was almost immediate for the home side.

Four minutes after coming on the pitch, Camavinga was celebrating with his team mates after the first high press of the night had resulted in Vinicius Jr intercepting a pass from the PSG keeper and passing it to Karim Benzema to pull a goal back.

The second Madrid goal was another consequence of Ancelotti’s tactical shift. With Camavinga anchored at the base of midfield, Luka Modric thundered forward in the 76th minute and played a one-two with Vinicius Jr, before playing Benzema through to score his second of the night.

Then, as if fate willed it, Madrid marched back up the pitch after stealing the ball from PSG at their own kick off and made it three. In the space of 21 minutes, the French giants had gone from dominating the match to being well and truly knocked out of the Champions League.

And that, in no small part, was down to Ancelotti’s decision to throw Camavinga on and move his time 20 feet further up the pitch.

What that means for Madrid’s summer business

Following the match, much of the praise was focused on Benzema and Modric but there was little doubt that the Spanish club took great delight in Camavinga’s performance.

According to sports journalist Fabrizio Romano, Madrid were delighted with the young player’s impact in the match and believed signing the French talent last summer rather than waiting a further 12 months to pick him up for free was key to the club winning the tie.

Such insight will come as bad news for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, who remains on course to leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.

The France international reportedly hopes to make a move to Madrid in the summer, but Camavinga going from strength to strength in Ancelotti’s side may raise questions as to why the Spanish side need Pogba at all when they already have such an impressive holding midfielder.