This Friday evening, Paris Saint-Germain won (1-2) in pain on the pitch of the Racing Club de Strasbourg. The capital club thus consolidates its leadership position in Ligue 1.
For this match on the twentieth day of Ligue 1, Luis Enrique chose to play with a 4-3-3 tactical scheme, with an offensive trident formed by Asensio, Mbappé and Kolo Muani. In the opposing camp, Bellaarouch found himself promoted to number 1 goalkeeper after the departure of Sels. And the Moroccan goalkeeper would quickly stand out. Following a foul by Perrin on Kolo Muani, the referee pointed to the penalty spot. For his first appearance in Ligue 1, the Alsatian goalkeeper chose the right side and diverted Kylian Mbappé’s misplaced attempt (6th minute). A quarter of an hour later, Diarra recovered the ball to fire a powerful half-volley. Donnarumma seemed beaten, but the Italian was saved by his post (20th).
While the Rouge et Bleu were being manhandled by their host for the evening, Bellaarouch made a blunder. On a harmless ball, he took too much time to restart. Countered by Asensio, the leather came back to Mbappé. The native of Bondy only had to finish in the empty goal to open the scoring (0-1, 31st). Author of his twentieth goal in Ligue 1 since the start of the season, the captain of the Blues found himself on the ground, complaining of pain in his left elbow. After going out to the side of the field, he ended up quickly resuming play. After five minutes of added time, the Rouge et Bleu returned to the locker room with a one-goal lead on the scoreboard.
Against murderer, rise avoided
The two teams began the second half without any changes on either side at the break. While the locals were pushing to come back to the score, Fabian Ruiz was launched on the counterattack. The Spaniard delivered an outside foot shot for Mbappé on the left side. Which served Asensio in the area, on the opposite side. The former Real Madrid player controlled and scored from the left (0-2, 49th). Patrick Vieira’s men did not give up and were going to be rewarded. On a cross from Angelo, Bakwa found himself alone in the area. The left winger concluded the action from close range and reduced the gap (1-2, 68th). Obviously, the comeback at Stade Brestois, last Sunday against these same Parisians, came back to everyone’s minds. Especially since in the process, Donnarumma avoided the equalizer by making a double save, following strikes from Bakwa and Emegha (69th). Somehow, the visitors managed to contain Racing’s attacks until the final whistle.
Thanks to this narrow success at the Meinau stadium, PSG consolidates its leadership position in Ligue 1. The French champion now has 47 points in the standings, nine lengths ahead of OGC Nice, who will travel to Brest. As for Strasbourg, they are in tenth place, with 25 units.
