MY ACCOUNT
Paris Saint-Germain suffered their second home defeat in a row as Lyon won 1-0 at the Parc des Princes to breathe life into Ligue 1’s title race.
Christophe Galtier’s men lost 2-0 at home to Rennes before the international break and were disappointing again as they succumbed to back-to-back league defeats for the first time since September 2020.
The story of the first half revolved around two penalties — one that was struck against the post by Alexandre Lacazette and one that was not given in favour of PSG for an apparent handball.
Yet, Lyon were unperturbed by Lacazette’s miss, sealing only a second league win at PSG since 2007 thanks to Bradley Barcola.
PSG should have established a fourth-minute lead but Vitinha inexplicably chipped over from close range after being found by Kylian Mbappe’s disguised pass.
Mbappe was similarly wasteful a few moments later, prodding across goal following a wonderful one-two with Lionel Messi.
PSG were fortunate to not concede in the 39th minute, however — Lacazette hitting the post from the spot after being bundled over by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Lyon arguably got lucky as well on the stroke of half-time as Dejan Lovren escaped punishment for handling in the area.
They made the most of that let-off early in the second half.
Sael Kumbedi passed across the six-yard box and Barcola — a first-half substitute — converted past Donnarumma, who desperately overcommitted by diving to his near post.
Barcola nearly got a second when forcing a fine Donnarumma save just past the hour but it mattered little as PSG failed to rescue a draw, with boos heard from the stands on the final whistle.
What does it mean? PSG’s lead slashed
PSG came into the weekend with a nine-point lead at the summit — they head into a new week with the gap at six points, and they have a tricky run coming up.
They go to Nice on Saturday and face Lens — who are currently second — a week later. While you would expect PSG to ultimately have too much for everyone, both in a single-game context and over a season, that was also the same expectation for this match.
Even with some amazing talent, PSG were pedestrian and lacking inspiration, with neither Mbappe nor Messi particularly good, especially in the second half.
Shine bright like Diomande
Sinaly Diomande may not have had the decisive involvement in attack but his contribution defensively was significant.
He made at least four tackles (five), clearances (four) and interceptions (four) — something no other player on the pitch managed — as he played a vital role in keeping PSG at bay.
Vitinha endures a day to forget
The Portuguese midfielder was very disappointing. There was no excuse for his early miss, and he never managed to make amends.
His decision-making was questionable and he lacked presence in midfield, winning just 28.6 per cent of his seven duels.
Key Opta facts
PSG have lost against Lyon for the sixth time in Ligue 1 since 2011-12, under Qatari ownership (W14 D4), only doing worse against Rennes over the period (7).
Galtier’s men have lost eight of their 18 games in 2023 in all competitions (W9 D1), their highest tally of defeats after 18 games in a calendar year since 2001 (9).
Lyon have lost only one of their last 13 games in all competitions (W7 D5), after losing eight of their previous 15 (W4 D3).
PSG have lost two consecutive home games without even scoring in Ligue 1 for the first time since 2011-12.
Lacazette missed his first penalty in Ligue 1 since April 2, 2017, exactly six years ago (v Rennes).
At 20 years and 212 days old, Barcola is the youngest player in the top 5 European leagues to be involved in 10 goals in all competitions in 2023 (six goals, four assists).
He has been directly involved in five of Lyon’s last six goals in the Ligue 1 (three goals, two assists).
What’s next?
PSG head south to face Galtier’s former club Nice, while Lyon are away to Nantes on Wednesday in their Coupe de France semi-final.
