One Hernandez can hide another. Excessively solid since his arrival on the banks of the Seine, Lucas Hernandez will meet this Wednesday, during PSG-AC Milan (9 p.m., Canal and RMC Sport 1) in the Champions League, his brother, Théo, who is no less essential to his own team. Obviously, in another genre… “Since I was little, when I started playing, I always liked being a defender,” Lucas explained to Le Figaro. Normally, when you’re little, those who are behind or goalkeeper are the worst players (laughs). But for me, it was a decision, it’s something I always wanted. The complete opposite of my brother, who always played as an attacker, now he finds himself a defender. This is also why he has his qualities, that he is much more offensive than me. This can be seen.
Author of 25 goals and 28 assists since his arrival in Lombardy (176 matches) in 2019, Théo Hernandez has established himself as one of the best players in the world in his position, “the best” if you ask his opinion. Stefano Pioli, as our colleagues from Gazzetta dello Sport did at the start of the year. Théo, a real strength for Milan. In fact, it is his association with Rafael Leao that stands out. The 24-year-old Portuguese nugget arrived at San Siro at the same time as the 26-year-old Frenchman. Immediate connection. “I didn’t really know him, he’s a great player, we spend a lot of time together because we speak French,” said the former Lille player in the columns of L’Équipe, in 2020. He’s the top scorer in the team despite his full-back position, and it doesn’t bother me that it’s him and not me.”
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Since then, Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammate in the selection has made up for it, having found the net 46 times in 174 matches, with 40 assists to boot. Only three goals since the start of the season for him, including one during the debacle against Inter (1-5), and four assists, including two against Lazio (2-0). On Sunday, he could do nothing to avoid a defeat, the second this season, during the shock of the ninth day of Serie A against Juventus (0-1), on the San Siro meadow and 10 against 11.
PSG would, however, be well advised not to see themselves looking too good. “The title (in 2022) was unifying for this group. They became aware of a lot of things, they showed a lot of cohesion. You feel like a group with character. They came through in the derby but they were able to react straight away, there is resilience, and Pioli manages this group well,” analyzes Greg Paisley, Italy specialist for beIN Sports. He continued: “Milan does not have much room for maneuver. All players have to be at their best at the same time. This is the case for all teams you might say, but even more so for Milan, which relies a lot on its left side, the one which really makes the difference, with Théo and Leao. If they are a little lower, you will feel it immediately and the result will rarely be positive. On a good day, this duo gives a headache… It’s going at 2000 miles an hour. It’s a crazy thing ! In Europe, this left side is at the level of the best, it is wreaking havoc.
Achraf Hakimi and company have been warned. Despite the departure of Sandro Tonali (Newcastle), the semi-finalists of the last edition have arguments to make. And this even if they remained silent against Newcastle (0-0) and Dortmund (0-0) in C1 this season. Two matches they should have won. With more bench depth up front than last year, they can manage Olivier Giroud’s playing time. Coach Pioli also made a tactical change, abandoning his 4-2-3-1 for a 4-3-3 in which ex-Parisian Yacine Adli recently established himself at low point.
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One thing that hasn’t changed is the character of this team. “Their strength, beyond individualities, is their ability to be very compact,” notes ex-Milanese Gigio Donnarumma. And the strike force on his left side. “Théo and Calabria often ask for the ball in the heart of the game, like defensive midfielders, and they really let Leao and Pulisic stick the line. This sometimes allows the central players, or even Maignan with his quality of footwork, to touch the players on the sides. And then, you see Théo rushing in and taking up space. In this case, he’s hard to charge… Théo coming in full swing is something… We’ll have to be very attentive, concentrated and operational in all areas of the game,” guesses Paisley, formerly of PSG. In view of the classification of group F, and the composition of this group as strong as it is homogeneous, his successors in Paris have an interest in following this advice.
