Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) looks like they are well on their way to another French Ligue 1 championship this season. Right now, they have a wide lead over everyone else in terms of points, with 71 points in all after 27 games played, well ahead of second place Monaco, with 57 points. PSG's goal differential is wildly ahead of everyone else, with a rather astonishing + 65. Again, their next closest competitor is Monaco, with +38 points overall.
Yesterday, PSG took all of these advantages and put them on the line against Olympique Marseille, the third place team overall. Marseille has 55 points after 27 games played, with a +24 goal differential overall.
Still, it would have been good for Marseille to hand PSG a rare loss. It would have boosted morale, certainly, and it would have given Marseille a huge and memorable win in what is already a storied rivalry between these two franchises.
But it was not to be for Marseille, as they essentially got crushed, 3-0.
Marseille actually had more shots on goal than PSG, with a decisive 15-9 advantage.
Yet, PSG was able to make their shots on goal count a lot more. Also, they controlled the ball 57 percent of the time, and were able to control the tempo of the game.
Initially, PSG grabbed the momentum with a goal by Kylian Mbappé in the 10th minute. They never looked back, as they added to their lead when a shot by Neymar in the 27th minute was deflected by Rolando, who was trying to block it, but wound up putting it into the back of his own goal instead. PSG provided the final cushion when Edinson Cavani scored in the 55th minute, providing the final goal for either team.
However, PSG's moment of glory was darkeed quite a bit by an injury to star player Neymar. He was carted off the field after what appeared to be a serious ankle injury, although there is no word just yet as to how serious this injury is, or how long Neymar might be out. France had to finish the game with only 10 players on the field.
Here is a scoring summary for yesterday's game:
Kylian Mbappé 10'
Rolando 27' (OG)
Edinson Cavani 55'
Matches between PSG and l'OM are always intense affairs, typically played in front of capacity crowds regardless of the standings. It's a shame that PSG lost Neymar, since his possible absence in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie against the mighty Real Madrid further complicates an already daunting task. However, even if he misses that game, PSG are one of the better teams in Europe, and the Parc des Princes is a difficult place for road teams to get a result as a general rule. We shall see! As you've already alluded to, PSG's lead at the top of Ligue 1 is all but unassailable, so as this point I'm mostly interested in their chances against "Los Galacticos".
ReplyDelete