- PSG lost 2–0 to Arsenal in their second Champions League group match
- L’Equipe have released a cheeky assessment of the Ligue 1 giants’ performances
- LISTEN NOW: It all starts!available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Five Paris Saint-Germain players have been hit with a brutal 3/10 rating from L’Equipe in a damning assessment of their 2-0 Champions League defeat to Arsenal.
First-half goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka gave Mikel Arteta’s side their first win in the revamped competition, with the Ligue 1 giants soundly defeated.
Nuno Mendes and Joao Neves both hit the woodwork either side of the break, but Arsenal’s dominant performance in the opening 45 minutes proved enough to condemn PSG to a limp setback and a damning series of headlines the morning after.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was accused of being at fault for both goals and was hit alongside almost half of the starting eleven with a score of 3/10.
Havertz ghosted between two PSG defenders to head home, but Donnarumma was criticized for failing to take control of his penalty area and collect the teasing cross.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was one of five PSG players rated 3/10 after their defeat to Arsenal
Kai Havertz beat Donnarumma with a cross and scored the first before Bukayo Saka got the second
L’Equipe made a scathing assessment of the performance of almost half of PSG’s starting eleven
Saka’s goal came from a free-kick, with his shot bouncing through a crowd of bodies before beating the Italian stopper and settling into the back of the net.
“Can Paris really have such high ambitions with a goalkeeper who makes so many mistakes in the Champions League?” L’Equipe asked.
‘The Italian was guilty of not clearing inside six meters on the first goal (20th), but on the second goal the Italian was less at fault, but just as passive (35th).’
Fullback Nuno Mendes is also among those given a rating of just three, with the publication stating that his first-half performance was ‘nightmarish’ after being ‘tortured’ by Saka. However, he is partially credited with helping PSG escape further damage.
L’Equipe also dug up Vitinha for ‘not existing’ after returning from injury.
“He couldn’t impose the pace because too often in matches he was dominated by Arsenal’s intensity,” the ruthless outlet added.
Donnarumma was partly to blame after Saka’s free-kick flew through a crowd of bodies
Midfielder Vitinha was also among those who received only 3/10 and was accused of ‘non-existence’
Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Nuno Mendes were the other PSG stars to have a poor score
They have also stated that he has “shown his limits at this level of commitment.”
Promising youngsters Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola were also rated 3/10, with both players making ‘little or no difference’ at the Emirates.
Boss Luis Enrique also did not escape. L’Equipe gave him a three and took aim at comments stating that his side was in for an improvement in quality.
“I cannot properly assess the level of our team, we will have to wait until the end of the season,” Enrique admitted after the match.
‘This was our first major competitor at a higher level. We knew from the first minute that they were going to press us and they did it aggressively and we couldn’t deal with that.
Luis Enrique was also rated low and criticized for his comments after the match
Arsenal took their first win in the Champions League after a dominant first 45 minutes
‘Mikel (Arteta) has been there for five years, I have been in Paris for a year and two months. I don’t know where we are. I have a clear idea of where I want us to be, but I don’t know how much time I need.”
L’Equipe were much friendlier to Arsenal after taking four points from their first two games, with Saka and Havertz both rated 7/10 after impressing.
Despite the outlet’s hard-to-impress reputation, six players scored a six, with only Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Thomas Partey falling to a five.