PSG are on the verge of securing yet another Ligue 1 title. Manager Luis Enrique will have at least one major title in his first season at the club. The French champions are still in the UEFA Champions League and will play against the Spanish giants, Barcelona. PSG have suffered defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the past and will look to defeat them in the quarter-final fixture.
Luis Henrique got a big boost towards the end of February. He finally got a chance to see Nuno Mendes take the field for the first time under him. The 21-year-old made a return to the big stage after missing 2/3rd of the season with a hamstring injury. Mendes has been the first-choice left-back at the club and he is also one of the best youngsters in the game. His return is a big boost for PSG. The player has six appearances to his name in all competitions and scored his first goal of the season ahead of the March international break. Here is a look at what this youngster has added and will add to Enrique’s side heading into the final phase of the season.
Tireless runner
Nuno Mendez has a lot of pace at his disposal and can terrorise any defence with his forward runs. Enrique has given him limited game time since his arrival. The youngster has spent 304 minutes on the field. In these five matches, the player has made 13 progressive runs and completed 60% of his dribbles. Most of these runs have started inside his own half. It can also be observed that the player has a decent dribble success rate on the edge of the penalty box.
The 21-year-old Portuguese full-back carries plenty of threat from the left flank. His speed allows him to get past defenders and deliver some goal-scoring passes. With Kylian Mbappe operating on the same flank, Mendes has to do a bit of extra defensive work around his area.
He averages nearly 65.5 passes per 90 minutes and has delivered 88.7% of these passes. The player has only delivered two passes into the penalty box and these two passes have led to a shot.
Ruling the defence
A full-back with a good pace is often a good defender. His speed allows him to reach the ball quickly and challenge for the ball. Mendes has performed decently in the defence. The player has won 62% of his defensive duels, 50% of his aerial duels and 40% of his loose ball duels. Mendes has given away quite a few fouls but all these in the middle of the park. Other than this, he has made 3.2 interceptions per 90 minutes.
The recovery rate is what has impressed many. Mendes’ speed allows him to recover the ball in attacking areas and some of them have turned into a goal-scoring chance.
Nuno Mendes will look to make more of an impact in the remainder of the season. He is one of the top U21 players in the world and will look to flourish under the Spanish manager.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
