Paris Saint-Germain pushes completely hopeless Olympique Lyon further into the pit


Sunday, September 3, 2023 at 10:36 PM• Jonathan van Haaster

Paris Saint-Germain left nothing of Olympique Lyon on Sunday evening: 1-4. Thanks to Kylian Mbappé (twice), Achraf Hakimi and Marco Asensio, the Parisians were already leading 0-4 before the break. Lyon, which regularly became dangerous offensively, was unable to match the quality and speed of PSG at the back. Corentin Tolisso’s 1-4 was for the statistics. Thanks to the victory, coach Luis Enrique’s team has eight points, good for second place. AS Monaco leads the dance in Ligue 1 with ten points. Lyon, which has started dramatically, is the last on the basis of goal difference.

On the side of Lyon, former Ajax player Nicolás Tagliafico was in the left-back position, while there was also a starting place for Ernest Nuamah. The Ghanaian top talent formed the attack with Tino Kadewere and Rayan Cherki. At PSG, Enrique opted for an attack consisting of Mbappé, Asensio and Ousmane Dembélé. The midfield was formed by Warren Zaire-Emery, Manuel Ugarte and Vitinha. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had to keep a clean sheet with defenders Hakimi, Marquinhos, Milan Skriniar and Lucas Hernández. The game came too early for top purchase Randal Kolo Muani.

The game was just two minutes old when PSG already received a penalty. Lyon goalie Anthony Lopes made a fumbled pass to Tolisso, who was pressured by Ugarte. The Uruguayan captured the ball and was knocked out by Tolisso in the box: penalty kick. Mbappé shot from eleven meters through Lopes’ foot: 0-1. PSG played strongly and that quickly led to the next Parisian goal. A Dembélé cross was badly processed by Anthony Lopes, allowing Hakimi to slide in at the far post: 0-2. Lyon, however, showed combativeness and came close through shots from Duje Caleta-Car and Cherki. The latter’s shot was cleverly saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

However, the home team’s offensive urge also gave PSG room to counter and that should have led to the 0-3, were it not for Hakimi’s shot against the crossbar after a sublime heel from Asensio. Ten minutes before the break, Asensio made it 0-3. The Spaniard got the ball in the barrel from Manuel Ugarte and left Lopes without a chance. Just before the break, Mbappé shot just wide of Lopes’ goal, who still had to fish a few minutes later. PSG once again had a counter opportunity and Mbappé was on the moped after a wonderful through ball from Ugarte. Mbappé then left Lopes without a chance: 0-4.

After the break, the need for PSG to attack disappeared, while Lyon turned out to be impotent. The visitors were able to attack freewheeling and almost reached 0-5 via Dembélé. The wing tip saw his effort hit the top of the crossbar. Lyon got a windfall in one of his sparse attacks. Zaire-Emery ground Tagliafico, giving Tolisso a penalty to take. The midfielder sent Donnarumma to the wrong corner: 1-4. However, that did not lead to a comeback. Bradley Barcola, who came over from Lyon this summer, made his debut on behalf of PSG and almost reached 1-5. At close range, however, he scored just wide. Mbappé also came close, but to his own frustration he no longer had his sights set.

No. Team m W G v +/- Pnt
1 AS Monaco 4 3 1 0 8 10
2 Olympic Marseille 4 2 2 0 3 8
3 Reims 4 2 1 1 3 7
4 Lille OSC 4 2 1 1 0 7
5 Stadium Brest 4 2 1 1 0 7
6 Stade Rennes 4 1 3 0 4 6
7 OGC Nice 4 1 3 0 2 6
8 Strasbourg 4 2 0 2 -2 6
9 Le Havre 4 1 2 1 2 5
10 Paris Saint Germain 3 1 2 0 2 5
11 Lorient 4 1 2 1 0 5
12 Toulouse 4 1 2 1 -1 5
13 Metz 4 1 2 1 -3 5
14 Montpellier 4 1 1 2 0 4
15 Nantes 4 0 2 2 -3 2
16 Olympic Lyon 3 0 1 2 -4 1
17 Clermont 4 0 1 3 -5 1
18 RC Lens 4 0 1 3 -6 1