PSG Handed Gabriel Moscardo Boost as New Espanyol Boss Makes His Call

Loaned to Espanyol since the start of the season, Gabriel Moscardo has just changed coaches, and although his playing time has not yet increased significantly, this change could be a turning point in his Catalan adventure.

After two loan spells at Reims and then Braga, Gabriel Moscardo was loaned to Espanyol Barcelona in La Liga last summer, hoping to take a step forward and "become key one day" to convince Luis Enrique to bet on him at PSG in the future. That is what the 21-year-old Brazilian defensive midfielder told the Catalan outlet Sport in early October.

"Luis Enrique told me that I had to be a key player, play more matches, be a starter, accumulate playing time... If all that happens, and I also manage to score goals, I think I could return to PSG and also to the Brazilian national team. I have to focus on that, on being a starter and scoring goals; that's what I have to do," Moscardo said last month.

His Catalan adventure began timidly, to say the least, with only 260 minutes played out of 1,200 possible. Moscardo broke his scoring duck last Oct. 27 in the Copa del Rey against a fourth-division team, but his side suffered a surprise defeat, and his coach, Manolo González was dismissed shortly afterward.

Not a catastrophe for Moscardo, who therefore had not been used much by González since the start of the season. Eder Sarabia was appointed but has not yet made his debut on the Catalan bench, as he had to serve a two-match suspension after his last spell in charge of Elche. Sergio Garcia therefore took interim charge against Villarreal, and Espanyol won 1-0, but Moscardo played only two minutes.

Supported in particular by a former Luis Enrique assistant (Aitor Unzué), Eder Sarabia really began working with his new team last week, and on Friday, on the eve of the match against La Coruña, the new Pericos coach discussed the Moscardo case, in which he seems to believe.

"It's true that he is a player we know relatively little about," he admitted. "That said, since his signing - notably at PSG -  we have been able to learn more about him. I think he has very fine qualities. Moscardo is one of those players who were playing less, but a new coach often changes the situation, including mentally. He is a footballer with many resources and, in my opinion, can play in several positions. He is a very good lad, with an excellent attitude. I think he is going to be one of the surprises, particularly in terms of output, because perhaps he had not yet fully shown the extent of his abilities until now."

On Saturday, Sarabia let his assistants (including Unzué) lead the match against Aubameyang's Deportivo La Coruña, and Moscardo again came on as a substitute. The Brazilian came on with 12 minutes left as a defensive midfielder in a 3-5-2, and although the match ended 0-0, the Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo praised his entry, calling him "combative and comfortable with the ball."

Suspended from the match but not from the news conference, Sarabia explained after the game why he brought Moscardo on: "We brought him on to bring a little more clarity to our play. We wanted a little more freshness and boldness, for him to play forward, through the middle, an aspect where we were struggling a bit. In fact, yesterday in training - more precisely during the positional play work - there were three or four sequences where I said to myself: 'He has that little something.' That is precisely what we were looking for. We will continue to create favorable situations for Gabriel Moscardo, as for all our other players, so that they can progress in those areas."

If Moscardo is in his new coach's good graces, it remains to be seen whether that translates into more playing time in the coming weeks. Espanyol Barcelona's next match will be at San Mamés on Nov. 21 against Athletic Bilbao. An always difficult away trip, but a fine opportunity for Moscardo to show what he is made of.