Brilliant against Paris, will Renato Sanches also be brilliant in Seville in the Champions League? The Portuguese and his Lille teammates travel to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium on Tuesday, November 2, in search of points and especially a first victory in the European Cup this season. The midfielder, injured for nearly two months, has returned to the field in recent games, but not always in his favorite position. Finally aligned in the axis, he achieved a high level match against PSG and Losc will need it to end a series of ten games without a win in the Champions League.
Announced on the departure during the summer transfer window, Renato Sanches finally remained in the North, due to a meniscus injury that occurred in early August. And if this abortive departure did not allow Losc to clean up its finances, it allows the northern club to count on additional talent within its workforce. After two months in the infirmary, the Portuguese has been back on the pitch since early October and against PSG, he held for the fifth time in all competitions this season.
But in the 4-4-2 set up by Jocelyn Gourvennec, with two central midfielders, Renato Sanches was until then positioned on the right wing, while Benjamin André, Xeka, or sometimes Amadou Onana were aligned in the axis . Against Paris, in the absence of André, suspended, the Portuguese returned to his favorite position, at the heart of the game, where he had shone during his heyday in 2016 or against AC Milan in the Europa League the season last.
Powerful, valuable for the recovery and conservation of the ball, Sanches shone at the Parc des Princes on Friday. He is the Lille who touched the most balls (84), won 73% of his duels and recovered eight balls. Statistics that allowed Losc to dominate the midfield. But lacking in rhythm, the former Bayern Munich midfielder gradually died out in the second period, a less successful blow that coincided with the loss of power at Losc and the Parisian goals.
Renato Sanches’ masterclass against PSG:
1 shot (0.06 xG)
84 balls touched
51 successful passes out of 58
10 successful long passes out of 12
3 key passes (0.22 xA)
⛹️♂️2 successful dribbles out of 4
2 fouls suffered
⬇️– Paris Stats Germain (@ParisStats) October 29, 2021
In a post-match press conference, his coach, Jocelyn Gourvennec, still underlined the performance of the Portuguese: “Renato Sanches is a high level player capable of playing under pressure. When he is physically good, you see what he brings. It took him a little time and a few games to bring him back to an athletic level. evening, we made him play the whole match because it was going well. He must continue these performances, whether it is him or his team-mates because they have all raised their level of play “.
While they operate in the same system as last season, the reigning French champions have been in difficulty since the opening of the championship. Jocelyn Gourvennec wanted to be part of the continuity of Christophe Galtier, but the technician now plans to change the game plan, perhaps moving to a 4-3-3, in which Renato Sanches could find his place in the heart of the Game : “We have different possibilities, we will have the opportunity to play three in the middle, even if the team has its benchmarks in 4-4-2. We have to be able to provide a little different answers, but we prepares all players in the same way so that they are effective together “.
Rather good against Sevilla in the first half of the first leg, Sanches must now confirm his regain of form, from Tuesday night and regardless of the system in which the Losc will evolve. For the northern club, victory is almost imperative if it hopes to keep a chance to qualify for the rest of the Champions League.