Liverpool duo Jeremy Jacquet and Bradley Barcola both started for France against Italy, although it proved to be a night to forget as Zinedine Zidane suffered his first defeat in charge

Jeremy Jacquet and Bradley Barcola managed to escape some of the heavy criticism doled out to their French teammates after defeat to Italy - although it wasn’t a great night for the Liverpool pair either.

Both Jacquet and Barcola started as Zinedine Zidane suffered his first defeat in charge of the two-time world champions. Despite Michael Olise’s early opener, Italy would go on to claim a 3-1 win in the Nations League, thanks in part to a Pio Esposito double.

Although Italy has now moved to the top of its group, France remains in a strong position to qualify for the competition’s quarter-finals, and will need just a point at home against Turkiye on Sunday.

Thursday’s defeat in Milan though will come as a wake-up call for many of the French players - not least Jacquet, who has been enjoying a superb first season with Liverpool.

The 21-year-old was actually the top-rated defender by Foot Mercato, with Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Truffert both receiving 3.5, while Malo Gusto was given a lowly 2.

Jacquet though could only manage a 4.5 performance, with the outlet analyzing: “Starting alongside Dayot Upamecano, the young center-back quickly realized he was in for a tough evening against Pio Esposito.

“The Inter Milan striker imposed a real physical battle, forcing the Frenchman into numerous interventions. Overall, Jacquet acquitted himself fairly well in the duels and made several commanding interventions.

“However, he lacked precision in his distribution and failed to stem the Italian attacks after the break. It's difficult to directly blame him for the goals conceded by Les Bleus, but he was less commanding, particularly in his anticipation.”

Like Jacquet, Barcola didn’t fare as badly as some of his fellow attackers, having been utilized by Zidane as a center-forward in the absence of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.

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The 24-year-old was still only awarded a 5 though, with his assessment reading: “In this unusual number 9 role, the Liverpool player showed flashes of promise.

“Very mobile across the front line, he made numerous runs behind the Italian defense and offered several interesting combinations with his teammates early in the match. He was first denied by Donnarumma (17th minute) before hitting the post with a beautiful curling shot from the edge of the box (35th minute).

“Still dangerous after the break, he narrowly missed the target from a tight angle, but was ultimately ruled offside (57th minute). Replaced by Eli Junior Kroupi (77th minute) who had little opportunity to make an impact.”

RMC Sport was a little more generous in its rating for Jacquet, although not by much as he was awarded a 5. That still made him the best of France’s defenders, with Chelsea’s Gusto again coming in for heavy criticism with another 2.

Summarizing Jacquet’s performance, the outlet commented: “As in the France-Italy match (1-1) in October, the Liverpool defender was paired with Upamecano. He was convincing with his precise passing and composure. However, he received a yellow card in the 13th minute and, more importantly, was too far from Frattesi for Italy's second goal (63rd minute).”

And Barcola was awarded another 5, with RMC detailing: “Deployed as the lone striker, he was quite technically gifted early in the match, with a few lay-offs and a good chance from a tight angle that Donnarumma saved. He also hit the post in the 35th minute after a superb French attacking move. Sometimes trailing in duels, he moved to the left wing in the second half where he was less involved. He was replaced by Kroupi in the 75th minute.”