Bad on Thursday, unrecognizable on Sunday and first in the group on Monday morning. So are the Blues of Didier Deschamps, changing colors and moods like cyclothymic chameleons, forgetting their football against Israel (0-0) to overtake Italy on the finish line in group 2 of the League of Nations. nations, inflicting on them at San Siro the same defeat with the taste of humiliation suffered at the beginning of September at the Parc des Princes (3-1).
It seems that with them, revenge is a dish best served cold on the evening when Didier Deschamps, once again quiet during almost four months of truce, benefited from an improbable Digne-Rabiot ticket to put his people back in the spotlight . They become a quarter-finalist again who will host the return match in March and will be feared again.
Lucas Digne in all the good moves
With the Blues, the unpredictable nature of football comes to life in augmented reality. Unable to deceive Israel, to find a fault in a defense grouped with eleven behind the ball, they managed to conclude a first period with an advantage, a 2-1 arising from their two shots on target, consolidated after the break by the same men , the infernal duo Lucas Digne – Adrien Rabiot.
Consecutive to two set pieces ― a corner and a sublime direct free kick from Lucas Digne finding the bar then the back of Guglielmo Vicario ―, these goals neither reflected territorial nor technical domination but Didier Deschamps’ men did. did a thousand times more against Italy than against Israel three days earlier in the bunker of the Stade de France.
If the attack once again suffered from its lack of automatisms and/or combinations, if creativity was still lacking in the last thirty meters, they were there mentally and athletically. On the first aspect, this was seen from the first shots, the desire to respond, not to give ground to the Nazionale. Physically, they also taught the hosts a lesson with a big impact in the middle put by Manu Koné who after a few selections already shows more than Eduardo Camavinga or Warren Zaire-Emery, two competitors at the heart of the game in a different register.
A renewed defensive solidity
Without overturning the table or pushing back the mountains, the Blues pleased with this undeniable and palpable desire, a defensive solidarity rediscovered despite a few oversights including the goal of Andrea Cambiaso (1-2, 35th) and this lightness in the offensive percussion. Unloaded from the ball, they played on depth and quick transitions, an area where they remain unrivaled thanks to the power and speed of their attackers.
Without shining in his use, Marcus Thuram often looked like a bulldozer capable of dynamiting the Italian defense while Randal Kolo Muani, a little more inspired than the Inter scorer, also created disorder behind. Even if once again, they scored everything from set pieces, with Lucas Digne involved in the three goals as if he had suddenly transformed into Antoine Griezmann or Kylian Mbappé, the last regulars in the selection to take care of everything .
The Blues perhaps did not, once again, impress in the game but they end the year by reminding us that they maintain very high level attitudes and players, punctual in major meetings and capable of rebound (especially mentally), that they are united behind their coach and that we will still have to count on them a little longer in 2025. Nice, they have reconciled us for the future.
