The Portugal defender is being touted as the world's best left-back, but he faces another stern examination of his credentials at the Emirates…
Mohamed Salah vs Nuno Mendes: it was always likely to be a decisive duel in Liverpool's Champions League last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain – and the presumption was that the Egyptian King would come out on top. After all, Salah was in Ballon d'Or-winning form going into the first leg at Parc des Princes, breaking one record after another as he almost singlehandedly turned the Premier League title race into a procession.
Of course, the 22-year-old Mendes had long been tipped for greatness, going all the way back to his emergence as a top teenage talent at Ruben Amorim's Sporting CP, but nullifying the threat posed by Salah for 90 minutes was proving an almost impossible task even for the game's most experienced defenders. Even when the winger was having an off-day, he was still scoring or creating goals.
However, Mendes didn't just hold his own against Salah, he "annihilated" him, as put it. Liverpool's talisman was a non-entity in Paris and fared little better in the return leg at Anfield, where his one decent goal-bound effort was brilliantly blocked by his new nemesis.
The question now, though, is whether Mendes can do just as effective a job on Bukayo Saka as he did on Salah when PSG take on Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday, as their battle could prove just as integral to this eagerly-awaited semi-final showdown…
AFPFirst blood to Saka
PSG and Arsenal have already met in this season's Champions League, all the way back on October 1, and the game in north London went much better for Saka than Mendes. The England international skippered the Gunners in the absence of the injured Martin Odegaard and led his side to a relatively comfortable 2-0 win. However, fortune definitely favoured the winger on the night.
Whereas Saka saw a pretty poor free-kick cross from the left somehow elude everyone – including Gigi Donnarumma – on its way into the back of the PSG net to double Arsenal's lead, Mendes saw a fine effort from outside the area clip the outside of the post just moments beforehand.
And, lest anyone forget, it was Saka that the Portuguese skipped away from before striking the woodwork.
AdvertisementAFP'Complete' team
PSG have also improved enormously since that desperately disappointing defeat at the Emirates. A team that was in very real danger of failing to get out of the league phase is now being tipped by plenty of pundits to go on and win a first European Cup – and Mendes is undoubtedly one of the main reasons why.
PSG are not short on world-class performers, of course. When Luis Enrique says that they're a "complete team", he's not wrong. Donnarumma, as he proved at Anfield, remains one of the best shot-stoppers in the game today, Marquinhos has long been a colossus in defence and has now formed a formidable centre-back pairing with Willian Pacho, while there is no more balanced midfielder in Europe than Joao Neves, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz.
As for the attack, PSG's wonderful array of wingers have bewitched the footballing world since the turn of the year. However, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia & Co. are ably supported by Mendes and Achraf Hakimi, who have unquestionably been the two best full-backs in this Champions League.
AFPIdeal role model
Hakimi has been the outstanding player in his position for at least the past five years. In fact, the Morocco international has been sensational pretty much since the moment Real Madrid foolishly allowed him to join Borussia Dortmund on loan for two years. At Signal Iduna Park, he showcased his offensive gifts, while he learned an awful lot about the art of defending during his solitary but hugely successful season in Serie A with Inter.
Since joining PSG, meanwhile, Hakimi has arguably been te club's most consistent and reliable performer, a ball-winning machine that is also brilliant going forward. He's essentially developed into the right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold would be if the Englishman expressed even a little more interest in the more mundane but equally important aspects of the role.
Mendes, though, is perfectly placed to become the left-back equivalent of Hakimi, with Luis Enrique recently comparing him to a "fighter jet", given his speed and agility make him incredibly effective from both a defensive and offensive perspective.
Getty Images Sport'Always ready'
That Mendes is comfortable on the front foot isn't particularly surprising. This is a young man that started out playing as a No.10 before eventually being converted into a left-back to devastating effect.
For that very reason, though, Mendes took some time (albeit not much) to get used to dividing his time between attacking and defending. He also still cops a little flak for occasionally getting caught out of position.
While Mendes nullified Salah at Parc des Princes back in March, he did allow the Egyptian's replacement, Harvey Elliott, to steal in behind him to score Liverpool's late winner. His defensive work also came under scrutiny after PSG's second-leg scare in the quarter-finals at Villa Park, which prompted an impassioned defence from Luis Enrique.
"I like players with this mentality, this personality," the Spaniard told reporters. "Whatever the game, he is always ready, at the highest level, at 100 percent. Name me a player who never makes a mistake, who never has a bad day, who doesn’t get dizzy sometimes. If you look for an action in which a player made a mistake, you will find it, for any player in the world. Nuno Mendes’ mentality and his performance this season and since I have been here is remarkable."
The stats certainly support Luis Enrique's point. His jet-heeled left-back has won more duels (100) than any other player in this season's Champions League, while only three players have reclaimed possession more times than Mendes (73).
The Portuguese also ranks second for tackles won (25) and joint-third for interceptions (22), while he even features in the top 10 for successful passes (759) – which is pretty remarkable for a full-back (although Hakimi is in there, too, naturally enough!).
