Ligue 1: OL and PSG back to back during the shock of the 20th day (1-1)

Cyrille de la Morinerie, edited by Gauthier Delomez with AFP 6:36 am, January 10, 2022

Paris SG snatched a draw from their trip to Lyon (1-1) on Sunday, during the shock of the 20th day of Ligue 1, with a goal in the last quarter of an hour which deprives OL of a benchmark success .

Another miracle for PSG, specialist in turnarounds in recent months.

Manhandled for an hour, Mauricio Pochettino's men snatched a point in the almost silence of Groupama Stadium, subjected to a gauge of 5,000 people, thanks to two players, substitutes at kick-off, not used to playing the heroes.

OL had balls 2-0

The young Edouard Michut, for his first appearance in Ligue 1 of the season, served Thilo Kehrer, who had not scored since February 2020, for the equalizer in the 76th minute. "We never let go," said the German defender at the microphone of Prime Video. "I think we all know that we can and must do better for the next goals that we have. " This improbable action annihilated the efforts of OL, which had balls 2-0 after having opened the scoring by Lucas Paqueta (8th).

OL, which has a fourth consecutive draw in the Championship, remains a recovering formation which gives up too many points in the last quarter of an hour, its guilty pleasure this season.

The players of coach Peter Bosz, to whom President Jean-Michel Aulas has given two months to reverse the trend, stagnate at an 11th place far from their ambitions.

"It's not easy to take a point against PSG. You have to be happy," insisted the Dutch technician.

Kylian Mbappé unhappy

Paris remains first, with eleven units ahead of its runners-up Marseille and Nice, but its performance was not in line with its accounting situation. As the undisputed leader of the championship, PSG monopolized possession, but the best opportunities were for the Lyonnais, more direct in their way of playing, at least during the first hour. The Marquinhos teammates, without ideas, were too content to turn the ball, without worrying goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, except on long shots (6th, 21st, 24th).

Without the creators Lionel Messi (recovery), Neymar (injury) and Angel di Maria (Covid), with three players selected by the African Cup of Nations including Achraf Hakimi, only Marco Verratti and Kylian Mbappé tried to upset predictable Parisians .

But "Kyky" twice found the post (42nd, 82nd), on actions that he himself provoked.

His lack of realism has long raised the specter of a second defeat in L1 this season for Paris.

Because for the rest, the regrouped block of Lyonnais got the better of the PSG collective, which continues to worry one and a half months before the knockout stages of the Champions League against Real Madrid.

The "Parisian titis" at the rendezvous

The return of the "Titis" from the training center Xavi Simons and Michut, as well as Kehrer, (69th) was a bet that paid off for Pochettino, with his face closed behind the black mask he kept during the match. "We are happy because the substitutes brought the enthusiasm we needed," said the Argentinian technician. His Lyon counterpart saw his team apply the minimums he demanded, in commitment, intensity, in a cautious pattern focused on defense - understandable given the need for Lyon to take points.

From the outset, his team set pace, and were rewarded with the goal from Paqueta, found by a nice opening from Bruno Guimaraes.

This is the first achievement since the end of November for the Brazilian star.

This was also seen during the beautiful intervention of the young central defender Castello Lukeba, 19, to counter Mauro Icardi, alone in front of goal (54th).

He lacked a touch of realism to his players in order to fold the match.

On their best 2-0 situation, Moussa Dembélé then Houssem Aouar clashed in turn with Keylor Navas and Colin Dagba (59th).

Rayan Cherki (74th) also had his chance.

Faced with Parisians specializing in turnarounds, OL paid cash.