A ghost on the pitch or a trump card? The Kvaratskhelia riddle troubles Enrique ahead of the Barcelona clash
His past defends him and his present condemns him.
Caught between regaining confidence and sitting on the substitutes' bench, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia faces a decisive test that could shape his immediate future at Paris Saint-Germain. The Georgian star shone in the UEFA Champions League last season. Now he is enduring a stuttering start that has raised question marks over his level, and starting him against Barcelona on Tuesday evening would carry considerable risk for coach Luis Enrique.
"A performance unworthy of a player of his calibre." That is how the French website "Foot Mercato" described Kvaratskhelia's display against Strasbourg, handing him a modest 3 out of 10. The rest of the French press was no kinder. "L'Équipe" called him a "ghost", while "Le Parisien" judged him "ineffective".
So where has the Georgian who lit up the UEFA Champions League last season gone? Kvaratskhelia has yet to rediscover his brilliance, and his start to the season has proved disappointing, even worrying in places. There is a paradox here. The player was given time to rest after missing the World Cup, and many expected him to begin the campaign in peak form. So far he has delivered nothing to confirm those expectations.
Enrique has already responded to the dip. He left Kvaratskhelia out of the starting line-up for Paris Saint-Germain's first two Champions League matches. Against Slovan Bratislava, the Georgian stayed on the bench throughout, and his cameo against Manchester City did little to change the coach's mind.
Strasbourg piled on the pressure. His loss of possession led directly to the goal PSG conceded, and that may complicate his task of reclaiming a starting spot, especially with Désiré Doué in fine form and competition on the left wing growing.
Doué himself started the Bratislava game on the bench. Yet he responded emphatically once he came on, planting himself firmly among Enrique's options and handing the coach a ready-made alternative that could keep the Georgian star sidelined.
Will Enrique restore confidence to Kvaratskhelia?
Vitinha leapt to his teammate's defence at the press conference before the Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona clash, insisting that a dip in form does not necessarily point to a problem that is hard to solve.
The Portuguese midfielder said: "You cannot find an explanation for everything. We all go through ups and downs, and we try to keep our level as consistent as possible. No player maintains the same level throughout the season; instead, everyone goes through varying periods during their footballing career. We hope that Kvaratskhelia and the rest of the players will be at their best tomorrow."
Words of support, though, do not answer the question gnawing at the coaching staff. Will Enrique give the Georgian a fresh chance against Barcelona, or keep him out of the starting line-up until he rediscovers his level?
One view calls for the attacking trio of Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé and Doué to return together, restoring the team's harmony and attacking punch for a heavyweight clash.
That argument carries extra weight with Nuno Mendes absent. Kvaratskhelia's defensive work could prove vital in supporting the left-back tasked with handling Lamine Yamal, one of Barcelona's biggest threats. His value on the night, then, may stretch well beyond his attacking gifts to his role in blunting the Catalans' right flank.
The opposing view is blunter. Keeping Kvaratskhelia out would send a necessary message from Enrique: a starting place is earned on the pitch, not handed over on reputation or past glories. By that logic, fielding Doué on the left makes more sense given the current gap in form between the two.
Even so, this stuttering start is nothing new. Kvaratskhelia hit the same wall in the opening weeks of last season and did not score his first Ligue 1 goal until the twelfth round, in November.
In Europe, he opened last season's campaign by scoring against Atalanta, before injury ruled him out of the Barcelona clash. He then produced a standout display against Bayer Leverkusen in the third round.
The circumstances now are rather different. Competition for the attacking roles has grown fiercer, and a place in the starting line-up is no longer guaranteed, not with Enrique holding options capable of changing a game, Doué chief among them.
Caught between the urge to recover the best version of Kvaratskhelia and the need to reward his sharpest players, Enrique faces a tough call before one of the season's biggest matches. Will he hand his Georgian star a fresh chance to rediscover his spark against Barcelona, or stick to his hard line and leave him out?
