PSG beats Metz, OM draws against Angers
On the wire, once again. Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG) beat (2-1), Wednesday, September 22, in the last second of their meeting, the red lantern of the Ligue 1 championship, FC Metz. Olympique de Marseille (OM), for its part, came back empty-handed from Angers (0-0), while Lyon (OL) dominated Troyes (3-1).
Cmont Foot was the most successful on this seventh day of the championship, conceding six goals in Rennes (final score, 0-6). Badly embarked, Lille, reigning French champion, a resumption of colors against Reims (2-1) and the rich AS Monaco was defeated late in Saint-Etienne (3-1) thanks to its captain, Wissam Ben Yedder.
Three days after dismissing Lyon in added time, the Parisians did it again in Saint-Symphorien thanks Moroccan side Achraf Hakimi, decisive scorer in the 95e minute. He was already the one who opened the scoring at the start of the match (5e). In the absence of Lionel Messi, affected in the left knee, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar lived a contrasting evening. Very comfortable during the first quarter of an hour, the Brazilian gradually died out during the first period, like his team, leaving their opponent of the day to equalize. Mbappé was less successful than his teammate; yet very leggy, he seemed quite clumsy, making small mistakes.
Decisive Neymar
After the break, the duo woke up and created danger, but it was especially Neymar who shone. As PSG were preparing to give up their first two points of the season in the league, the Brazilian unblocked the situation by delivering a deep pass to Hakimi, who controlled in the box before scoring from the left to afford a doubled and above all allow his team to win. PSG therefore remain the leader at this stage.
Seven points behind a match in less, the Marseille dolphin suffered a halt in Angers with a reshaped team, in which substitutes Duje Caleta-Car, Jordan Amavi, Amine Harit and Luis Henrique took their places at the kick-off .
After three straight wins in the league, Jorge Sampaoli’s OM were less restless and less inspired than usual. With this point grabbed, Angers climbed on the podium at the expense of Lens, beaten 0-1 at home by Strasbourg.
Lille awakening
At home too, Lyon was jostled by the poorly classified Troyes, before taking the upper hand. OL reacted after the opening of the promoted score (45e +1), through summer recruits Xherdan Shaqiri (48e) and Emerson (72e), authors of their first goals in L1, before a third goal from Paqueta (89e).
A reaction was also expected from Lille, beaten in the last two outings in the league. At the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, the supporters conveyed the message: “Enough, last chance”, “Deserve our encouragement” and “Wake up, get moving”. The start came from Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz, decisive passer for Jonathan David and Benjamin André. The LOSC, worried by a penalty from the young Rémois Alexis Flips (74e), now occupies the fourteenth place.
A row ahead, with eight points also, AS Monaco fought against a team from Saint-Etienne, however forced to evolve very early in numerical inferiority after the exclusion of goalkeeper Etienne Green (33e). At home, the Rocher club built its victory on a penalty from Ben Yedder (61e), just entered the game, before recovering it on a beautiful volley from the French international (86e).
Rennes have the number of points in the standings after their six goals against Clermont Foot, a performance that comes after three successive defeats in the league, without the same but scored. The Bretons therefore tripled their total goals scored in Ligue 1 this season on Wednesday. The Ghanaian rookie from Rennes, Kamaldeen Sulemana, stood out with a double, like the former Marseillais Valère Germain with Montpellier against Bordeaux (3-3).
In Nantes, the Canaries feel growing wings against Brest (3-1). Here they are eighth with the same number of points as Strasbourg and Nice, beaten 0-1 in Lorient. The Merlus, fifth, have a seventh straight win at home.