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#3 Edinson Cavani was conspicuous by his absence
PSG went into the game without their (and Ligue 1's) leading striker Edinson Cavani, who was ruled out of this match because of a hip injury, and it was always going to be interesting to see how they coped without their Uruguayan talisman - who has already amassed 21 goals in Ligue 1, and 28 in all competitions.
Without their spearhead goalscorer, their makeshift front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria did all that they could to minimize the influence of Cavani's absence, and while they created chances aplenty, most of them went a-begging.
Unai Emery's side piled on a total of 21 shots, of which, astonishingly, only 6 were on target, and 2 hit the woodwork. For a side that has scored 76 league goals in 25 matches, a collective shot accuracy of 28.6% doesn't bode well.
The arrival of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and the subsequent success that the club found had allowed a shadow of a doubt to creep over Cavani's necessity in the side, with a number of people going as far as calling him their weakest link.
What's ironic though, is that Cavani has answered those doubters not just with his presence, but with his absence as well. Aside from the fact that Cavani is the leading goalscorer in France's top-tier competition, games like these glaringly highlight what the side lacks without him, and just how important he is to the side.
