Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Lyon: Mayulu and Godts late strikes send champions top of Ligue 1
Super-subs seal three points for Luis Enrique's side
Paris Saint-Germain had to bide their time against Lyon, but scored twice late on to earn three points and send them up to the summit of Ligue 1.
Senny Mayulu and Mika Godts came off the bench to seal Paris Saint-Germain a 2-0 win over Lyon, which took them top of Ligue 1. Both teams struggled for quality for large parts of the game, but Mayulu and Godts found moments of quality which secured all three points for Luis Enrique's side.
First-half frustration
Desire Doue skipped past four Lyon defenders early on, only to fire tamely at Dominik Greif, while Fabian Ruiz volleyed wide. Ferran Torres then dragged wide after Lyon were caught on the ball inside their own half, before he tried his luck from a tight angle, but Greif kept it out with an outstretched leg.
Lyon turned up the heat before the break, with Julien Duranville and Zachary Athekame both testing Matvey Safonov, while Maghnes Akliouche had two late chances for PSG, but they were comfortably saved by Greif.
Second-half breakthrough
Just after half-time, Joao Neves teed himself up for a spectacular free-kick, but he could not get his angles right as it flew high and wide. Ferran was again denied by Greif from a tight angle, and it was his replacement, Mayulu, who found the breakthrough in the 72nd minute as he drilled Godts' cutback into the bottom-left corner after a lovely team move.
And Godts got their insurance goal 12 minutes later; Quentin Ndjantou lifted a stunning long ball over the top for the Belgian to race onto, and he fired past Greif from the edge of the box.
PSG leave it late again
PSG came into this match, which was pushed back 24 hours due to civil unrest in the French capital, on the back of a seven-game winning streak in all competitions, but their 4-2 Champions League victory over Barcelona came at a cost. Luis Enrique lost Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, while Ousmane Dembele and Marquinhos are also sidelined, but PSG proved they have the strength in depth to still compete.
They also showed their persistence. While PSG pushed in the first 70 minutes, they largely struggled to trouble Lyon's backline, and even when they did break through, they were lacking that quality. But the reigning champions have gained 12 points from goals scored after the 60th minute this season, with Godts proving particularly influential with a goal and an assist.
Though they had to wait for it, PSG have now scored in their last 53 home Ligue 1 matches, equalling the longest such run in the last 50 years, set by Monaco between September 2015 and April 2018.
As for Lyon, they were top heading into the weekend, but have now dropped down to third. Their chances were few and far between as they mustered just eight shots worth 0.62 expected goals compared to PSG's 17 chances, though their goals were of some quality as they only accumulated 0.87 xG.