Bradley Barcola Shines as PSG Finds Success After Mbappé’s Exit

Since the start of the season, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has navigated the departure of Kylian Mbappé with relative ease. A standout player has emerged to fill the void left by the Bondy native: Bradley Barcola. Once again, he showcased his talent by scoring a brace against Rennes on Friday night, marking a significant rise in his performance and establishing himself as PSG’s lucky charm.

This summer, PSG faced the challenge of losing Kylian Mbappé, who signed with Real Madrid on a free transfer. In the wake of this departure, various names were floated as potential replacements during the transfer window. Ultimately, the capital club chose not to recruit a high-profile striker, instead opting to invest in young, promising talent. In this context, Bradley Barcola has emerged as the perfect embodiment of this new strategy.

Barcola’s Impressive Stats

As the season unfolds, the young French winger is certainly making his mark. With Mbappé’s exit, Barcola has seized the opportunity to take center stage in PSG’s attack, evidenced by his remarkable statistics: 6 goals in just 6 Ligue 1 matches. During Friday’s game against Rennes, Barcola scored twice, contributing to a 3-1 victory. This is excellent news for PSG, as L’ÉQUIPE reveals an impressive statistic for the former Lyon player: he has never lost a match in which he was pivotal, with a record of 28 wins and 4 draws out of 32 decisive appearances. This season, Barcola has netted goals against Le Havre (4-1), Montpellier (6-0), Lille (3-1), and Rennes (3-1), maintaining a 100% win rate. Truly a lucky charm for the team.

Luis Enrique Defends Barcola

Following the victory against Rennes, coach Luis Enrique came to Barcola’s defense amid some criticism following a brief slump in form: “Can you name a player who has always performed well in football history? I don’t think there is a single one. It’s quite tedious, especially when discussing a young player (22 years old). Even for a 30-year-old, in reality, no player is consistently great. I apologize, but this conversation bores me (he reiterates). Yesterday, Bradley was the devil, and today he is God. Please, let’s raise the expectations (he repeats again).”