Lucas benefiting from first-team run, says Blanc

Laurent Blanc believes an extended run in the first team is the reason behind Lucas Moura’s strong form for Paris Saint-Germain.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder made the switch to the Parc des Princes in a reported €45million deal from Sao Paulo in January 2013 after rising to prominence in his native Brazil.

Lucas’ form for the Parisians’ has been somewhat indifferent in his time at the club, but the Brazil international has shown glimpses of his undoubted talent.

That included a superb piece of skill in last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Marseille, where Lucas picked up the ball in his own half and held off several challenges before seeing his dinked effort cleared before crossing the goal-line.

Moura has appeared on 25 occasions for the Ligue 1 leaders this term, albeit 12 of those coming from the substitutes bench, and PSG head coach Blanc has been impressed with his development.

“Lucas is scoring a lot of points at the moment,” he said ahead of PSG’s Ligue 1 clash with Bastia on Saturday. “He is getting better because he is playing a lot, so physically he is getting stronger.

“He wasn’t far off scoring an incredible goal against Marseille in Le Classique. It was a world class passage of play and if he’d scored, it would have been seen around the world.”

PSG face Bastia with several of their first-team players having featured on the international scene in midweek.

Centre-back Thiago Silva had a long trip to South Africa with Brazil, while Thiago Motta took a knock to his knee as Italy fell to a 1-0 loss to Spain.

But Blanc is confident the pair will be feature.

He added: “There’s a bit of fatigue there, especially with Thiago Silva who had a long trip to South Africa. Thiago Motta felt a bit of pain in his knee playing for Italy, but he was already feeling better when he returned on Thursday. He should be available.”