Paris Saint-Germain’s Youth League campaign is gathering pace under the Manchester rain. Three weeks after sweeping Slovan Bratislava aside, the young Parisians went to Manchester City and left with a composed 2-0 victory, backed by a major display from goalkeeper Arthur Vignaud.
PSG make it two wins from two
- PSG began the competition with a 6-1 win over Slovan Bratislava, having reached the Youth League semi-finals last season.
- Jean-François Vulliez’s side then travelled to Manchester City on Wednesday and faced opponents committed to the same principles: pressing high and playing out from defence.
- Paris struck first in the 15th minute. Noha Tiéhi extended a cross and Mamadou Meïté completed a flowing team move to put the visitors ahead.
- City increased their pressure after the interval, while PSG found it harder to retain possession and looked increasingly to attack on the break.
- Adam Ayari settled the contest in the 79th minute, finishing after Maoula Niakaté produced a clever sombrero flick during a counter-attack.
Ayari’s goal was his fourth in this season’s competition. It gave PSG a 2-0 win and strengthened the sense that Vulliez’s group can again go deep in the tournament.
Vignaud withstands City pressure
Manchester City produced 20 attempts and had enough of the game in the second half to feel they deserved more. Ryan McAidoo, who attracted interest from Rennes during the summer, was particularly energetic as the home side pushed for a way back.
But Vignaud repeatedly denied them. The 18-year-old French youth international made five key stops, including a close-range save from Kaden Braithwaite’s header at a corner in the 28th minute, a one-on-one stop against Tyrone Samba in the 62nd, and a deflection to keep out Floyd Samba’s effort in the 75th.
City had already tested him in the third and 29th minutes, and Vignaud was called upon again in the 71st. His only serious blemish came four minutes after half-time, when an apparently harmless back-pass almost became an own goal after he mishit his clearance.
The goalkeeper was shielded by a determined central defensive pairing of Koukaba and Olax, but his response carried particular weight. Vignaud had been at fault for Bratislava’s only goal in PSG’s opening 6-1 win. In Manchester, he showed again why he is regarded as a dependable goalkeeper on his line.
A changing picture in the PSG goalkeeping ranks
PSG’s management of their young goalkeepers has been difficult to read this autumn, with Adam Mouak and Arthur Bar unexpectedly brought into the senior squad. Vignaud, however, has not been involved with the first team for several weeks and appeared unaffected by the shifting hierarchy.
One of the few players born in 2008 to sign a professional contract with PSG last summer, Vignaud delivered a timely reminder of his standing with a performance that preserved Paris’s clean sheet.
The next test comes next Tuesday at the Campus PSG, where Barcelona will provide an even tougher-looking opponent for a Paris side that has started the Youth League with six points and eight goals scored.
