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It’s the kind of scoreline out of France that we’d forgotten was even possible: Paris Saint-Germain, winners of Ligue 1 for four consecutive years now, were comprehensively beaten 3-1 by AS Monaco. It’s only the third match of the French league season, and it was Paris’ first loss, but the manner in which they succumbed to defeat was frighteningly sluggish.
Once again, Edinson Cavani struggled to impress in the limelight. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s departure to Manchester United has put Cavani in the position of having to effectively replace the Swede. It's not going well.
Ibrahimovic scored 38 league goals for Paris last season, and Cavani will be happy to have grabbed the first of his campaign against Monaco:
VIDEOGOAL: Edinson Cavani gets PSG back in the game with a fine header. Score: Monaco 2-1 PSG. pic.twitter.com/eqZyZBa7xj
— Warriors of Uruguay (@UruguayanHeroes) August 28, 2016
Even though the Uruguayan managed to get on the scoresheet, his performance still drew criticism for his movement off the ball. Here's his own teammate, Marco Veratti, doing his best Cavani impression:
Veratti's reaction to Cavani for being stationary man I am out. pic.twitter.com/RbgGzL7hGL
— JH (@Jrmadrid_) August 28, 2016
He was also at fault for snatching at a number of opportunities that came his way:
Is Cavani finished part 2 pic.twitter.com/HDiDZssBYP
— hash (@hashim0307) August 28, 2016
Cavani’s troubles are nothing new this season. Last week, against Metz, Cavani’s toils in front of goal became an interest sensation:
Cavani needs to go and see Drogba for juju consultation https://t.co/xYEoxU3Fpp
— KoloKK | #SocialGood (@KoloKennethK) August 28, 2016
Cavani finds himself in new territory. Being the undisputed No. 9 in Paris and without the shadow of Zlatan hanging over him, he’ll need to start scoring with more frequency very shortly.
PSG find themselves in new territory as well. Without Zlatan, that invincible aura surrounding the club appears to have faded. Teams in France sense a bit of weakness from PSG for the first time in years.
Paris’ fifth straight league title might not be so straight forward after all.
Follow me on Twitter: @ConmanFleming
