On-fire Cavani silences his critics, but for how long?

“He does an incredible defensive job.” It’s not perhaps the first compliment you would expect to be paid to a man that’s just scored four times, but that Caen coach Patrice Garande chose to underline that particular aspect of Edinson Cavani’s game shortly after the Uruguayan had pulverised his side at the other end of the pitch is apt, in a way.

Cavani polarises opinion but assessing his value, or otherwise, is a far more layered and complex task than many would like to admit. He is the scorer of 87 goals in 153 games for Paris Saint-Germain, yet hardly benefits from unanimous approval. In a viewer survey conducted by beIN Sports’ Dimanche Ligue 1 programme on Sunday morning following Friday’s 6-0 win at Caen, potential respondents were asked if Cavani’s strong showing had restored confidence in him. Only 33% replied in the affirmative.

This match had, without question, belonged to Cavani. He rated 9.80 in just one half of football, having 6 attempts at goal, 4 of which were on target and each resulted in goals to leave PSG 4-0 up and with the game won at the break. After failing to take two fairly difficult early chances, it was a finishing masterclass, as he scored two with each foot. Given that Cavani only took 17 touches of the ball during that 45 minutes, it was also a lesson in effective economy. 

At last, we were re-discovering the really dominant PSG that we’re used to. Even if the result against Arsenal in the Champions League had ultimately been disappointing – and more about Cavani’s contribution to that in a minute – the performance was far closer to what new coach Unai Emery really wants from his side, in terms of aggression, control and fluency. The new coach made some big decisions for that line-up on Tuesday and the inclusion of Grzegorz Krychowiak, his old midfield muse from Sevilla, along with the absence of Hatem Ben Arfa (also omitted from the 18 at Caen), felt key. 

There were a few exceptions. Thiago Silva and Marco Verratti, still finding their best form after coming back from injury absences, were left on the bench, rested. Perhaps Cavani might have expected the same after his efforts (and there were plenty of them, whatever the end product was) against Arsenal. The argument advanced for his retention by Emery would have been to play his main spearhead into form. Whether Cavani can consistently find his shooting boots will have a big influence on PSG’s ability to fulfil their ambitions this season.  

The 67% of doubters in that beIN Sports poll almost certainly still had Tuesday night at the Parc des Princes on their minds. Going back to the beginning of our assessment, it’s a difficult night to pick apart, one that began with Cavani imperiously heading home to make the Parc erupt inside 45 seconds, before ending in real disappointment for him.  

On paper it doesn’t look too bad. The 29-year-old had 3 efforts on goal, with 2 on target. That doesn’t quite tell the full story, of course. The one that was off target was an open goal, which he’d engineered by speeding gracefully around David Ospina. He was clean through against the Colombian for his other effort that forced a save too, but the images of his losing balance in potentially goalscoring positions abound too.  

Essentially, it was very much like the first home game of the season against Metz, where Cavani saw a series of opportunities come and go, though these misses were not so costly, with PSG winning 3-0 anyway. He had 6 efforts at goal, and only 2 on target. With that conversion rate, all the work rate in the world isn’t going to get credit. 

So what about those defensive efforts? Cavani has always been a prodigious worker and, as Garande alluded to, a proponent of the Barcelona philosophy of defending from the front. He shook Caen throughout the first half.  

Caen’s centre-backs, Syam Ben Youssef and the usually excellent Damien Da Silva, were hustled out of their respective strides here, landing 68.6% and 76.5% of their passes, way below their normal levels (82.6% season average for Ben Youssef, even after this, and 81.6% for Da Silva). Ben Youssef in particular was a shadow of his normal self, rating 4.4 – having previously rated over 7 in 3 out of 4 matches – and giving away the penalty that led to Cavani’s crucial second with an ill-judged challenge on Lucas Moura.  

At least part of that effort has been fostered by Laurent Blanc’s use of Cavani in a wide position – a constant bugbear for the Uruguayan, but something that might stand him in good stead. It must feel hard now, as attempts to readjust to the centre-forward position that he has craved for so long as a de facto replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Confidence is clearly an issue in the varied success rate in front of goal.  

Comparison to Zlatan clearly doesn’t help. Some have claimed that the Swede would have easily finished the chances that Cavani didn’t take against Arsenal, but that wildly misses the point. Cavani’s movement creates chances that simply wouldn’t be there for Ibrahimovic. It’s worth remembering that 32 of the latter’s 37 Ligue 1 goals last season were from inside the box, emphasising the change in his game towards a player that needs to be served (as Manchester United fans are discovering). Taking those chances provided by PSG’s Rolls Royce midfield, and specifically Ángel Di María, more clinically is the next stage for Cavani. 

With a home game against Dijon on Tuesday followed up by a trip to Toulouse on Saturday, and then the next instalment of Champions League action at group outsiders Ludogorets, Cavani is unlikely to get asked the big questions again too soon. His exploits at Caen are by no means irrelevant, but we have to wait and see whether they are representative of a trend.

Is Cavani good enough to fire PSG to the European glory that they crave? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below