Bradley Barcola's return to scoring form in Ligue 1 boosts PSG ahead of Champions League test at Arsenal

French star continued his hot streak of early season productivity with two more goals

PARIS -- Bradley Barcola is back on scoring form after Paris Saint-Germain's 3-0 win over Stade Rennais in Ligue 1 on Friday night which was secured by the France international. The 22-year-old netted his fifth and sixth goals of the season with an unerring 30th-minute finish and ultimately secured Les Parisiens' fifth victory of the campaign with an easier 69th-minute effort. It was Barcola's first goals after three scoreless outings with the French titleholders -- his fourth if you include Les Bleus as well.

Goals in the wins over Havre AC, Montpellier HSC (two), Lille OSC and Italy were followed by blanks against Belgium, Stade Brestois 29, Girona FC and Stade de Reims so hitting the back of the net will have been welcomed by the former Olympique Lyonnais man. It will have also been a relief to Luis Enrique ahead of next week's UEFA Champions League clash away at Arsenal in the new-look League Phase which will see the French giants attempt to build on their opening win over the Spanish debutants.

Barcola is playing an important role for PSG right now as not only one of the team's main attacking threats but also given that he occupies the role closest to that of former talisman Kylian Mbappe who has now moved on to Real Madrid. With main hitman Goncalo Ramos and false nine Marco Asensio both out injured, Paris' French star is picking up much of the slack along with Ousmane Dembele who teed him up for his opening goal at Parc des Princes here.

"We gave a lot," said Barcola postgame. "I felt good and gave what I could. I am happy with the result. We pressed a lot and defended together. Offensively, we went forward together as well. We tired towards the end which is why we conceded chances, but we played well. I really like going one-on-one so I am comfortable with space so that I can go for it by shooting, passing, or provoking something. We switched up top without a fixed No. 9 and it allowed us to free up space for all of us. We did a good job and I am happy. We can go far -- we are unstoppable when we play like this."

With Barcola on the left and Dembele on the right, PSG have balance on either wing with both players capable of cutting into teams at will. Ramos' absence is being felt through the middle with neither Asensio nor Kang-in Lee capable of filling inadequately in a false nine role but the French pair's collective 10 goals and three assists illustrate how important both are to this Parisien side under Luis Enrique as they gear up for another important European outing.

The assumption is that PSG are weaker without Mbappe but that is not strictly true with the Ligue 1 leaders looking more balanced and capable of turning on the style to devastating effect than they have done in a long time. Barcola is a key reason for that and already showed glimpses of his immense potential last term in Paris but his compatriot's departure has expedited his arrival as a fixed member of the starting XI and he has shown the end product to match -- so far.

Luis Enrique's final challenge with this Paris attack is to find a reliable central attacking option who can offer enough of a regular goal threat without compromising the Spanish tactician's preferred style of build-up play. It is possible that Randal Kolo Muani is that solution but Asensio and Lee have been given the early chances despite the French striker's improved form in front of goal which hints that perhaps Ramos is being waited for to complete the preferred frontline.

Should that be the case, we are likely to see PSG remaining reliant on Barcola and Dembele's strong individual and collective form for the coming games. On form such as this, it is hard to argue with the former as he could easily have had one or two more and even supplied Lee's goal with a shot from range that crashed off the woodwork. By the time he made his way off with 20 minutes left to play, the home side were well on their way to another convincing success which he played a key role in.