PSG headed to the south looking to grab their first win of the 2023/24 campaign following a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Lorient on the opening weekend. Meanwhile, the hosts had begun the season with a win at FC Nantes courtesy of an injury-time winner from Rasmus Nicolaisen. Amidst all the drama surrounding his future, Kylian Mbappe started on the bench for Les Parisiens. Toulouse lined up with some exciting young players in the starting XI although, Farès Chaïbi was left out of the squad as he looked to seal his move to Eintracht Frankfurt following a summer of speculation.
The game finished 1-1 thanks to two penalties. PSG dominated possession but could not break the deadlock until the 62nd minute when Kylian Mbappe marked his return to the squad by winning and scoring the spot kick. Toulouse’s Zakaria Aboukhlal equalised from the spot in the 87th minute.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Guillaume Restes
Player profile:
- Nationality: France
- Age: 18
- Date of Birth: 11/03/2005
- Current club: Toulouse FC
- Career: Toulouse FC (Y)
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Height: 186 cm
- Preferred foot: Left
When Carles Martínez chose to start an 18-year-old Guillaume Restes on the opening day, it raised a few eyebrows, to say the least. The young goalkeeper to his credit performed well and retained his place for the visit of Les Parisiens.
Restes has drawn comparisons to former Toulouse goalkeeper Alban Lafont and it’s not difficult to see why. The youngster demonstrated that he is able to move swiftly across his six-yard area swiftly in order to ensure that he is in the best position to block a shot or collect a cross. He displayed some excellent reflexes and reactions as he was able to get down quickly when opting to save with his legs. Moreover, his ability to utilise his body orientation to limit the opponent’s shooting angles was on display on the occasions when PSG broke through the Toulouse defensive structure.
The young goalkeeper is comfortable with the ball at his feet. He remained calm and composed even when PSG’s forwards were pressing high, he was able to shift the ball away from them and pass to a teammate. Additionally, he was happy to use his weaker right foot when making short – mid-range passes which was very effective when evading the press. His long kicking was quite inaccurate and didn’t always achieve a great distance so it often resulted in a turnover, if there is one area of his game that needs improvement, I would say it is this.
At 186cm he is reasonably tall and possesses a good jumping reach when collecting crosses and dealing with set pieces. He is very quick off his line, very decisive which allowed the Toulouse defence to play with a level of confidence as they knew Restes could be relied upon. I would say he doesn’t always use his frame to the team’s advantage, for example, when Mbappe was waiting to take the penalty, Restes simply stood in the centre of the goal rather than trying to make himself look bigger and the goal look smaller – the PSG man had the entire goal to aim for. Perhaps this was a lack of experience when faced with a penalty from France’s most prolific forward. Overall, though, this is something simple that will improve with more first-team experience.
Finally, Restes remained alert and showed good concentration throughout. He communicated well with his defensive line and played with a confidence that made you forget how young he actually is.
Rating – A1
I have no doubt that Restes will go on to become a top goalkeeper and a future senior international. He is already proving why his manager was right to select him ahead of two much more experienced goalkeepers this season. I’m sure he will make some mistakes along the way as all young players do but the fundamentals are there for him to play for a top team.