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England’s Will Still, Europe’s youngest boss to start playing FOOTBALL MANAGER, scores a rare 8/10 in L’Equipe’s notoriously tough ratings after coming up with a master plan to keep Messi, Mbappe and Neymar calm in a draw 1-1 of Reims with PSG.
Reims manager Will Still garnered a glowing review from a notorious French outlet L’Equipe after his team’s dramatic late equalizer against PSG.
The Belgian-English manager was given a rare 8 for masterminding Reims’ performance, which effectively shut out PSG stars Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night.
He still paid tribute to his team after Arsenal’s late goal-loanee Balogun, which leveled the visitors after Neymar’s opener with pressure mounting on the league leaders after rumors of discontent following the vice-captain spat .
Belgian-English manager Will Still was awarded an 8 by L’Equipe after his team’s late PSG equalizer
The late equalizing goal made the front page of the Monday morning edition of the French newspaper
Neymar and Lionel Messi battled to inspire a victory for the favorites at home
Still’s performance on the bench for the visiting side was praised by L’Equipe, which is famous for its harsh ratings.
They wrote: ‘We are witnessing, week after week, the birth of a top coach. The way his group approached the game, without fear, with a lot of personality, is quite remarkable.
His game plan worked. It lacked realism at first. His preparation (Van Bergen but above all Doumbia, decisive passer), although somewhat late, led to this well-deserved draw.’
His counterpart Christophe Galtier instead received a scathing 4 from L’Equipe, with four of his players ranked three or four in a poor showing from the likes of Messi, Mbappe, Vitinha and Carlos Soler.
And while Still himself received rave reviews from the French outlet, nine of his starting eleven, including goalscorer Balogun, were rated six, and both Alexis Flips and Thibault de Smet were rated five.
Reims are now 11th in Ligue 1, higher than they managed to finish in their last two seasons.
Despite being the visiting side, Still’s Reims managed more shots than PSG (17-14), and the same number of shots on goal (4-4), despite enjoying only 40 percent of the ball.
Still’s side caused PSG constant problems in their own box, with the visitors creating several chances in dangerous areas early on with quick combination play down the flanks.
Having frustrated the Ligue 1 giants throughout the first half, Galtier was forced to bring in Marco Veratti in an attempt to pick the lock in the second half.
But it was only a chance opportunity that allowed Neymar to open the scoring, and with Veratti sent off 14 minutes after his introduction, Danilo Pereira’s lax defense in midfield opened up the opportunity for Balogun’s late equalizer.
After seasons with two different Belgian teams, Still was promoted from No. 2 in Reims to manager in October 2022, and has impressed in his first season in charge of the 11th-ranked club in Ligue 1.
According to the French publication, Still had more influence than any player on the pitch.