Simon Penrose returns with the latest update in his ‘Next Generation’ series. Updates from his player focus and who else has been impressing in Europe this week?

As the nights draw in and winter approaches, the football season across Europe is hotting up. Once again Marcelo Bielsa’s Lille with Ezequiel Ponce coming from the bench capitulated to draw 2-2 with minnows Troyes in a game that saw another act of indiscipline costing the team a crucial three points. 

Ponce hasn’t really been utilised so far and one wonders whether Bielsa will be at Lille long enough to give him a much needed run of starts.

Giovanni Lo Celso came on in PSG’s 2-1 last minute win against Dijon but didn’t feature heavily enough in the team’s last gasp winner. Lo Celso, like Ponce, desperately needs a run of games to nurture his fantastic talent.

There was also bad news for the Sebastián Driussi fan club (of which I am a member) as he played a full 90 minutes in Zenit’s 1-0 defeat against Arsenal Tula without making a dent against a team that Zenit were widely tipped to overcome easily. Driussi has had a mixed start to his Zenit career but for as long as Mancini is at the helm, there is no worry about his progression.

Santiago Ascacibar is blossoming into a classy midfielder in Stuttgart’s engine room, the enigmatic 20 year old is playing with such confidence and his move to a lesser positioned club in favour of first team football seems to be paying dividends. Stuttgart climbed to 11th with a 2-1 victory over bottom of the table, Koln.

Angel Correa got an hour in Atletico Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Barcelona before being replaced but failed to make to make too much of an impression while Esteban Rolón got another 90 minutes under his belt at Malaga. Regular playing time aside, with the club still without a win and rooted to the foot of the table, Malaga have the look of a relegated side.

Rodrigo de Paul continues to stand out in a poor Udinese side and he duly contributed an assist in a disappointing 2-1 defeat away at Fiorentina. Giovanni Simeone’s poor run of form continued in this game as he missed a couple of very easy chances and was overshadowed by his older strike partner Cyril Thereau.

Daniel Mancini’s Tours have struggled so far this season and are rooted to the bottom of the French Ligue 2 without a win, however as stated in previous columns, Mancini continues to impress in what is a poor side.