In the end, Paris Saint-Germain made it relatively easy to secure their place in the Champions League final on Wednesday night, dampening the Gunners’ celebrations with a 3-1 aggregate victory after having to play defense against attack and weather an early Arsenal storm. The Englishman is currently facing some criticism from the French media, despite being the toast of the team’s victory over Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
Luis Enrique was undoubtedly well-informed about the kind of trouble Rice may cause before the competition’s business end. In addition to his usual role as a deep-lying midfield anchor, which involves protecting the defense and putting out threats, he has established himself as a dangerous late-arriving player in the opposition box. It’s hardly surprising that he has been giving Premier League defenses difficulties all season long when you consider his set-piece deliveries.
Rice is unquestionably one of the best midfield players of our time, but his impact was somewhat diminished against the French powerhouses, who, like Arsenal, are still vying for their first Champions League title. Naturally, PSG’s midfield engine room deserves praise for giving him a taste of his own medicine.
Declan Rice Struggled To Stamp His Authority At Parc des Princes
“He had less influence as the minutes went by, falling victim to Neves and Ruiz in midfield”
It wasn’t the Rice masterpiece that his devoted followers in the City of Lights have grown accustomed to, as the statistics undoubtedly demonstrate. The French media were quick to criticize the England international’s lackluster effort, but they were also fair enough to give PSG’s midfield credit for their own impressive performance. Rice received a 4.5/10 match rating from Maxifoot, which stated:
“A letdown for the Gunners.” The midfielder had a great start, running forward and pressing hard, but he also made a fantastic pass to Barcola. However, as the minutes passed, he lost ground to midfielders Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves.
Meanwhile, Footmercato explained how they were anticipating another Rice masterclass early on but that PSG’s midfield made sure he would be stopped quickly. They went on to give him another 4.5 rating as well:
“We immediately believed that Rice, who dominated in midfield and was well-launched by a header that went a few centimeters wide, was the Rice from the first leg against Real Madrid (2nd).”
“But if he was the author of a heroic comeback in front of Bradley Barcola (30th), his match was difficult, the Englishman having difficulty containing the countless runs of João Neves behind him.”
Rice received a 5/10 from L’Equipe, who observed that it was essentially a game of two halves: “Declan Rice delivered a strong box-to-box performance in the first period, standing out both by his defensive returns (like the one on Bradley Barcola in the 30th) and by his projections (like when he surprisingly found himself on the right wing in the 36th).”
They went on to say: “But after the break, his influence on the match decreased significantly,” and GFFN echoed that assessment without expanding on it.
