It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that, had Edinson Cavani brought his shooting boots to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night, Paris Saint-Germain could be even further ahead in this tie.
At times, it felt like he was wearing clown shoes instead.
The 3-1 victory over Chelsea, in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg, was a magnificent occasion for the city of Paris; “Ici c’est Paris!” (this is Paris!) rang thunderously around the stadium as the game kicked off, and Chelsea fans I caught up with after the match admitted it was an atmosphere like no other.
But the feeling of joy for home fans was nagged by the knowledge that it could have been more, and Cavani was the scapegoat chosen due to his poor final-third production on the night.
He put in one hell of a shift on the wing, tracking back—to the tune of 6.3 miles—and helping right-back Christophe Jallet deal with the threat of Eden Hazard.
It worked for the most part—the Belgian scored a penalty, yes, but was restricted to just one other shot that struck the post—and Jallet was able to get forward and stretch his legs regularly.
The notoriously harsh L’Equipe magazine gave Cavani just 5/10 for his performance but awarded Jallet a 7; Without the hard work of Cavani, tracking and covering the wings, Jallet would have been roasted. The right-back scored highly because of the Uruguayan’s disciplined game.
But impressive as his defensive effort was, fans (largely) see only the attacking details. The groans grew louder and louder as Cavani gave up possession in his own half again and again, and after tripping over the ball in the box after Lucas Moura had beaten four players late on, the stands had just about had enough.
His confidence has hit the floor, transitioning from the favoured son of Naples to the expendable outlet in Paris. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the main man, the one this city adores, and Cavani is essentially a sideshow.
He is not altogether happy in Paris and Wednesday will have compounded that. He has hinted he’s not happy playing wide and it’s easy to see why.
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But with Zlatan picking up a 3-4 week hamstring injury against Chelsea, Cavani has a massive chance to seek redemption at Stamford Bridge. He will play as the central striker, and he’s been pencilled in to play against Stade de Reims on Saturday too.
He has a week to build his confidence before PSG travel to West London and take on the Blues, and he will know more than anyone just what the home side are capable of there.
Cavani was part of a Napoli side that took a 3-1 aggregate lead to Stamford Bridge two years ago, but the Blues scored four and progressed 5-4 over two legs. They won the Champions League that year.
It’s up to the Uruguayan to make sure this does not happen again.
