Lucas Moura has hit back at his critics who claim that he should be scoring more goals for Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazilian midfielder, who is facing competition for his place from the likes of Edinson Cavani, Jeremy Menez, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore, has scored twice in 12 appearances for the Ligue 1 champions this season, but has chipped in with four assists.
"This daily competition is beneficial for PSG and for me," Lucas told L'Equipe. "I also have to respect the decisions of [PSG manager Laurent Blanc] and, when I play, to take the opportunity to show my qualities.
"I am a player who creates goal situations, who makes assists. I like to play forward but I'm not a scorer. I'm more of a midfielder. In Brazil, they let me do what I wanted; I could go to the left, the centre, the right. We also had more time to make the first or second pass.
"Here, everything must be done very quickly, all the time. Spaces are limited and the physical aspect of games is much more important. At first, it was complicated. But I feel good about this club and in the game, I think I have made great progress, especially on the defensive side of things."
Lucas joined the club in January from Sao Paulo.
Matt Cotton
