How media in France brutally reacted to Lucas Digne display vs Spain ahead of Aston Villa exit
Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne endured a horror show of a performance against Spain.
France went up against their neighbours on Tuesday night with a third successive World Cup final in sight after an excellent tournament so far.
However, Didier Deschamps' side couldn't have gotten off to a worse start in his final match, as Mikel Oyarzabal rattled in a 22nd-minute penalty after a Digne mistake.
Completely unaware of his surroundings, Digne brought down Spanish star Lamine Yamal in the box - the start of a one-way battle between the pair.
Villa News reported this week that Digne is set to join Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
And based on the French media reactions, boss Unai Emery might be left thinking that the correct decision has been made.
What has been said in France about Lucas Digne display?
Looking back at the events in Dallas, the post-match summation from L'Equipe goes a long way to detailing exactly what happened to the full-back.
"His lapse in concentration, which led to a penalty, contributed to crushing France's hopes in Dallas on Tuesday night. He wasn't solely responsible for the elimination against Spain, but he was more at fault than most," the report read.
"It was a key moment in this semi-final, and Lamine Yamal had little trouble forcing the lock when Lucas Digne was slammed into the door. The outcome of the evening would undoubtedly have been the same without the error from the French defender after 20 minutes of play.
"But it certainly contributed to sending Les Blues packing.
Digne would rack up 72 minutes on Tuesday before Deschamps had seen enough to send on Theo Hernandez.
In his showing, he would make just one defensive contribution with a clearance, while he would struggle against Yamal and Pedro Porro all evening, making just two recoveries and being dribbled past once - winning 50 per cent of his duels in the process.
To absolutely nobody's surprise, he would be awarded a 2/10 score by Get Football News France, which was matched by Goal, and upped to a three by ESPN.
"A disastrous lack of awareness resulted in the penalty and was taken apart regularly by Yamal. Seemed to never recover and lacked focus. A game he will have nightmares about," added the latter, summing up his evening quite well.
Does the Digne horror come as a surprise to Villa fans?
Throughout his time at Villa Park, Digne has been a reliable presence on the left, especially with his crossing ability.
But there is always the lingering thought that a defensive lapse could be on the cards when he is playing, and Villa fans have certainly felt this too.
Supporters will remember his mistake against Bournemouth back in February, when he allowed Rayan to simply charge into the box, or the other occasions in which he has been caught out for a lack of awareness in a similar area of the pitch.
On his day, he has proven a strong left-back for the Villans, but it hardly comes as a surprise for fans to see him put a performance in like that on Tuesday.