Willian Pacho, Desire Doue make Champions League debut in PSG's victory over Girona

Willian Pacho and Desire Doue made their Champions League debuts on Wednesday night during PSG's 1-0 victory over Girona. The two summer signings had contrasting performances.

Out of the four players PSG signed during the last summer transfer window, only two had yet to play in the Champions League: Willian Pacho (22 years old) and Desire Doue (19 years old). The Ecuadorian centre-back had previously competed in the Conference League with Frankfurt last season, as well as the Copa Libertadores when he was playing in his home country, while the former Rennes player had already featured in the Europa League.

Willian Pacho, Desire Doue make Champions League debut in PSG's victory over Girona

Willian Pacho fulfilled his dream

However, the Champions League is a whole different level, and the two players had very different experiences on their debut. Starting on the left side of PSG’s defence, Willian Pacho was solid defensively, despite a minor error towards the end of the match that had no major consequences. On the ball, he showed some limitations but had a lot of touches (119 in total, 74 of which were in the first half).

After the match, Pacho also did his duty by speaking to the media in the mixed zone, where he expressed his delight at having played in the most prestigious club competition: "I’m very happy. It’s a dream come true for me. This day is very important because ever since I was little, I dreamed of playing in the Champions League, and now I’ve achieved that. I’m here to help the team and ready to give my all."

Doue struggled in his Champions League debut

Substituted in the 63rd minute for a disappointing Bradley Barcola on the left wing, Desire Doue didn’t fare much better than the former Lyon player, in fact, he was worse. Doue made a poor start, missing several easy crosses and quickly reverting to his tendency to try and do everything himself. His underwhelming performance was criticised by the French press, with L'Equipe even calling his display "worrying."

Despite this, Luis Enrique still appears to have faith in him, as Doue was close to coming on in the first half, having been sent to warm up by his coach before Kolo Muani was eventually chosen to replace Asensio. And it’s worth noting that Doue replaced Barcola, a player with clear offensive capabilities, which suggests the PSG manager views Doue as someone capable of performing at the highest level.