Barcola's star shines bright in early going
With Ousmane Dembéle and Désiré Doué nursing injuries, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League bow, Bradley Barcola will be even more vital. The young French international is ready to respond, as our latest analysis reveals.
A tough start
After a summer which wasn't -- owing to their run to the final of the Club World Cup in the United States -- Paris Saint-Germain were back in action early doors, becoming just the second Ligue 1 McDonald's team to play a competitive match as they (just) edged Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup. In that match, despite starting, Barcola was ineffective, being subbed off as his side recorded a comeback win.
Thus, what looked to be a tough season for Barcola was underway. Despite his having impressed on arrival from Olympique Lyonnais, the arrival of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the improved form of both Doué and Dembélé had left him on the outside looking in. While he did start both of PSG first's two Ligue 1 McDonald's matches, the team could only turn in drab performances in a pair of 1-0 wins over Nantes and Angers, two sides expected to struggle against the drop.
Bradley Barcola is a superstar 🌟 pic.twitter.com/gvqrf6aaxs
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) September 14, 2025
In form for club and country
In the team's third match of the season, a comprehensive 6-3 win over Toulouse FC, Barcola started again, and though he scored just once, his performance overshadowed by João Neves' brilliant hat trick, he had turned a corner, and built on that in a pair of wins with France, getting an assist against Ukraine and a goal against Iceland. On Sunday against Lens, it was more of the same, as he netted a double for his side to help them continue their perfect start to the season.
Now with four goals and an assist in his last four competitive matches, Barcola seems to be hitting form at just the right time, given the absence of his fellow Frenchman ahead of tomorrow's Champions League clash. Having struggled last season with a lack of end product at times, he underscored a need for efficacy on Sunday, saying of the need to have more of an eye for goal "I'm not a player who shoots a lot from distance, I don't shoot a lot at all. I hope to shoot more and I'm working towards that. My goal? To do better than last year, more goals, more assists." Thus, despite his strong performances last season, Barcola knows that talent isn't enough given the competition for places, and continued improvement will be vital to being a regular in the eleven.
Speaking after Sunday's win over Lens, his manager Luis Enrique affirmed this, saying, "Last season, Bradley was last season a very important player, he's a French international, and is regularly called up. He has quality, he is fast, he's a different kind of player. We're very happy to have him right now." Indeed, if Barcola can build on his fine form of late and the capital side can escape tomorrow's match against Atalanta with a win, the manager will be all the happier still.
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