Irresistible against Montpellier, Bradley Barcola confirms his new status as PSG’s attacking leader

The young Parisian striker scored twice at the end of the reigning French champion’s big victory over Montpellier on Friday evening.

For now, the star of the 2024-2025 version of PSG is him. Starting in the Parisian attacking trio for the first match of the second day of Ligue 1 against Montpellier (6-0), Friday August 23, at the Parc des Princes, Bradley Barcola turned in another excellent performance. Already a scorer a week ago in the season opener against Le Havre, against whom he scored the third Parisian goal, he continues his great start to the season and confirms his new status as a potential starter.

As the Parisians played in front of their supporters for the first time this season, against MHSC, the French striker stood out. The best player on the pitch, Bradley Barcola scored twice, his second and third goals of the season.

He first opened the way and scored the first goal of the match after only four minutes of play. Coming to request a one-two with the recruit Joao Neves, he outpaced the Hérault defense before finishing with an unstoppable shot from the point to make the Parc roar. In the first minutes of the second half, well served by a great job from Ousmane Dembélé, he concluded in front of the empty net (53rd).

On Friday night, in the wake of his double, the 21-year-old player took all the spotlight on the pitch of the Parisian stadium. Very enterprising, he showed himself a lot in the Montpellier half of the field on several occasions (14th, 27th, 29th, 37th).

Visibly confident, as seen in his lob on a service from Warren Zaïre-Emery (37th) or his series of juggles close to his area before being stopped by a shirt catch (38th), he showed off his speed and explosiveness (four shots, two goals, 85% successful passes).

All this in just one hour of play, since he was replaced shortly after the 60th minute by another nugget, Désiré Doué, for his first steps in the jersey of the capital club.

Enough to justify the praise of his coach Luis Enrique in the pre-match press conference, who praised the versatility of his young striker. “Barcola could play as a number 9. He played that position in the youth teams. I like players who are versatile.”the Spanish tactician had declared on Thursday. If the place has been freed up on the left wing with the departure of Kylian Mbappé, Bradley Barcola could therefore also be brought to shine at the tip of the attack, orphaned by Gonçalo Ramos, who came off injured against Le Havre and is out for around three months according to the club. On Friday evening, it was the Spaniard Marco Asensio, also a scorer, who occupied the position.

At the very start of the season, the young French striker has so far managed to show himself and make the most of the minutes spent on the pitch. “I hope he has constant improvement and an even greater contribution. I believe he has all the qualities to improve further, the abilities and the will necessary for that.”Luis Enrique also stressed before the first league match last week. Clearly, the message was heard.