Liverpool winger Bradley Barcola played 77 minutes during France’s 1-0 Nations League win over Belgium on the road last night.
The 24-year-old started on the left wing for Les Bleus, but struggled to impose himself on the game, barring one shot in the opening half.
His performance was less influential after the interval, and manager Zinedine Zidane eventually replaced him with Paris Saint-Germain’s Michael Olise, who made the difference with a sublime solo goal.
Shortly after the win, the French media published their player ratings. Ouest France (page 20) said that Barcola had little impact and lacked the cutting edge in the final third. They gave him a rating of just 4/10.
The outlet wrote: “His trademark explosive bursts of pace remain devastating, yet the new Reds player lacked a cutting edge in the danger zone.
“He produced a fine, curling shot on target (19th minute) but otherwise had little impact.
“He was replaced by Olise (77th minute), who secured the win for Les Bleus with one of his signature solo runs (88th minute).”
Meanwhile, Le Figaro Sport (page 3) acknowledged that Barcola troubled Belgian’s defence in the first half and should have had a penalty.
However, they added that the Frenchman had ‘nothing to show’ for it and was ‘less influential’ before being replaced. He was rated 5.5/10.
The publication said: “His pace troubled the Belgian defence, particularly in the first half.
“He arguably should have been awarded a penalty after being pushed from behind in the opening period.
“Ultimately, however, he had nothing to show for it.
“Less influential after the break, he was replaced in the 77th minute by Michael Olise (unrated), who scored a magnificent goal right at the end—in the 88th minute, to be precise—capping off one of his trademark surging runs.”
Barcola completed 100 percent of his passes against the Red Devils yesterday.
Despite this, he did not create a chance for his teammates. He was good with his link-up play but did not provide much in an attacking capacity, aside from his early strike on goal.
Still, we don’t believe his performance warranted a 4/10 rating from Quest France. Barcola deserved a 6/10 for his overall display and will be keen to impress in the coming games.
Les Blues have two more Nations League matches against Italy and Belgium (both at home) before the international break concludes. Barcola could start on the bench against the Azzurri.
Desire Doue had a top performance against Belgium yesterday and should start out wide alongside Olise, who made the difference off the bench with a late winner for Zidane’s side.
Stats from Sofascore.com