Come on, Vidi… Vitinha. The Portuguese midfielder came, he looked and he was beaming. Number 17 experienced, this Wednesday, November 26, the kind of memorable night that marks a career and sticks in the retina. 45 minutes of absolute madness, 45 minutes to turn the game around, score a unique hat-trick, the first of his career, and further solidify his status as the best midfielder in the world.
An almost apathetic Parc des Princes needed to be awakened, almost asleep, lulled by the senatorial rhythm scored by Luis Enrique’s troops. We just need a gem, a flash of genius to rock the Paris skyline and make us forget the boring first 45 minutes.
If the European champions’ first period left us speechless due to their lack of genius, the same happened when Vitinha came on to chill Tottenham’s blood by scoring a sublime equalizer that Paris fans will be watching over and over again this Thursday morning, again and again. A “banger” as the young people say.
Without inspiration, PSG relied on the genius of its Portuguese player (25 years old) who came to prove to the whole of Europe that he is a world reference in his position, confirmed by the 3rd place in the Ballon d’Or, and to be honest this status was not captured.
Spurs certainly didn’t revise their record by leaving so much space for Vitinha who responded with the first intention, at 25m, the ball was given by Ndjantou and then landed under Vicario’s bar, following a corner which he himself earned… via a long shot.
A well-deserved standing ovation
If we are used to highlighting the Parisian keeper’s views, technical finesse and knowledge of the game, since his arrival in August 2022, long-range shots have become the former Porto man’s trademark: 11 of his 24 goals with PSG were scored from outside the box! Celebrated for its true worth, this extraordinary achievement could have remained an anecdote when Randal Kolo Muani came raining down on the Park by giving Spurs the lead (50).
But with Vitinha proving indispensable in a collective that at times lacked attacking genius without its offensive stars, the Paris vice-captain decided to don the top scorer’s shirt and take inspiration from compatriot João Neves.
Three minutes later, it was he who was responsible for equalizing, once again, using his “bad foot”, left, to confuse Vicario and the three opposing players around him, with a fine curling shot (53).
A well-deserved standing ovation
The first “Vitinha, Vitinha…” came from the Auteuil stands who would not hold it as a loose ball led to Kolo Muani’s second goal (72).
Furious at having offered this feat to England, number 17 would, one last time, get everyone to agree, as if to remind us that tonight was his. A penalty was provoked and turned into a power (75), making us forget the two previous failures against Arsenal… and Tottenham, and confirming his status as the most decisive Parisian player of the season (5 goals, 8 assists).
Yes, PSG this autumn has a magician who deserves a standing ovation from the whole park when he leaves the pitch. Veni, Vidi, Vici.
