Malo Gusto was one of the first Chelsea stars in action during the international break, coming up against the likes of Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos in France’s 2-1 win over Brazil.
France’s 2-1 victory over Brazil at Gillette Stadium served as a vital audition for Malo Gusto ahead of the summer World Cup, with Jules Kounde injured. Starting at right-back, Gusto was tasked with the daunting challenge of neutralizing Vinicius Junior.
He performed admirably for much of the contest, utilising his recovery pace to manage one-on-one situations before France was reduced to ten men following Dayot Upamecano’s 55th-minute red card.
Joao Pedro was introduced for Brazil to chase an equaliser, and he got to see the worst of his Chelsea teammate, with Gusto making mistakes and giving Vinicius too much space in the second half.
And the review from the French media was rather mixed.
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Malo Gusto gets a 6/10 after France’s win over Brazil
Eurosport France were straight out with their player ratings after France’s win against Brazil, but Gusto’s rating wasn’t as good as many would have thought after a win.
‘Opposite him, Vinicius did not exist. So yes, the Brazilian was next to his pumps on Thursday, but the former Lyon player also opposed him with a deterrent presence.
‘Very available during the first half hour, he lacked accuracy in his crosses. Not really intimidated by the context, Gusto still made two mistakes (questionable alignment on the action that led to the expulsion of Upamecano and failed tackle against Luiz Enrique) which sent a real shiver through.
‘In short… It is decidedly the recourse to Jules Kounde.’
This isn’t too dissimilar to our ratings of Gusto so far this season, as we believe he’s been a 6/10 for Chelsea.
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Malo Gusto’s stats in France’s win over Brazil
Gusto played 91 minutes, completed both of his dribbles, was dispossessed twice, completed 46 out of his 55 passes, made four passes into the final third, had a game-high 74 touches, failed his only cross, made four out of five long balls, two tackles, one interception, four recoveries, one clearance, was dribbled past once and won five out of his 11 duels (FotMob).
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