Neymar’s skill bamboozles opponent and Kylian Mbappé’s pace terrifies them, but Di María’s vision knits it all together
By Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French
Football News
When a frustrated Ángel Di María trudged off the pitch at the Allianz Riviera back in April 2017, it seemed as if the end was in sight. That 3-1 defeat to Nice drew a close to PSG’s title challenge and it felt like Di María’s very place at the club was under threat. An intelligent Nice under the wily Lucien Favre routed PSG in a game that finished with Di María being sent off for an angry slash at Arnaud Souquet. Two years later, Di María is in the form of his life. He set up three goals in PSG’s 4-0 win against Marseille in le classique on Sunday night – and it’s difficult to imagine the club succeeding without him.
When Di María arrived in
Paris in the summer of 2015 there was a sense he needed some convincing. He enjoyed a lightning start – his bullish and intense display in a close defeat to
Real Madrid that November was a highlight – but quickly settled into a more sedate rhythm. Mirroring his excursion in the
Premier League with
Manchester United, his match-winning performances and flourishes of brilliance became rarer and rarer. Di María gave the impression he was living off his reputation and man-of-the-match in the
Champions League final in 2014, which secured la décima for Real Madrid.