Three weeks after its victory during the Classic in Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain (6th) hosted Le Mans (10th) for the 6th day of Ligue 1. For this match back from the international break, Luis Enrique carried out a squad review and had to do without Nuno Mendes, nor Ousmane Dembélé, left to rest. Senny Mayulu, affected with the Espoirs, was in the stands. Having left Spain’s rally prematurely, Ferran Torres started at the forefront of the attack, surrounded by Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts. The Manceaux were deprived of one of their strong men at the start of the season, Adil Bourabaa.
Kvarasthelia unlocks her Ligue 1 counter, first goal for Akliouche
If the reigning French champions have logically monopolized the ball, the compact Le Mans block has long thwarted the Parisian offensives. The Parisians finally found the solution from the penalty spot, after a handball from Harold Voyer in his area. In the absence of the usual shooters, Lucas Beraldo was responsible for converting the penalty (19th, 1-0). This goal forced the promoted player to go further out of his camp and take advantage of the slightest opportunity to equalize. Receiving a long cross, Louis Mafouta found himself facing Safonov, who had to come out quickly to intervene (29th). Samuel Yohou also tried his luck, but saw his attempt fail in the small net (35th). Akliouche responded with an uncrossed header, stopped by Nicolas Kocik (44th).
In the second half, the Manceaux took advantage of a dilettante PSG to pick up the score. After a cross from Lucas Calodat, Louis Mafouta took advantage of the passivity of the Parisian defense and equalized with a header (55th, 1-1). In the process, Luis Enrique made four changes and notably launched Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The two entrants were involved in the 2-1 goal, a few minutes later: after a free kick taken by the Portuguese, repelled by the Le Mans goalkeeper, Ruiz volleyed the ball back. Kocik ultimately did not catch the ball, allowing Kvaratskhelia to emerge and push the ball into the goal (61st, 2-1). After regaining the advantage, the Parisians made the break, thanks to the first goal from Maghnes Akliouche (68th, 3-1). Despite these two goals in advance, Le Mans did not give up and Dame Gueye found the crossbar after having mystified Lucas Hernandez (72nd). Matvey Safonov was also vigilant on the multiple opposing attempts (78th) to allow his team to maintain its advantage. Despite Déisré Doué’s missed penalty at the end of the match (90th + 3), PSG achieved a third consecutive success in the championship and temporarily moved up to 5th place. The Parisians now have their eyes on the Champions League and Manchester City on Wednesday. Despite his good performance, Patrick Videira’s Le Mans is 12th.
Monaco retains its first place despite its draw, the PFC beaten, Brest unwinds
In the other matches of this multiplex on Saturday evening, AS Monaco hosted Toulouse, with the ambition of regaining first place in the ranking. At the Stade Louis-II, Filipe Luís lined up his usual 4-2-3-1 with the inclusion of Matthis Abline, supported by Mathys Detourbet and Edan Diop on the sides. For his first professional start, Sofiane’s little brother distinguished himself by opening the scoring for the Monegasques (29th). It was then he who shifted Abline, before the ex-Nantais signed a magnificent inspiration to double the lead (39th).
If the Principality club thought they had done the hardest part, Toulouse finally came back in the second half, with a new goal from Casper Tengstedt. Monaco was therefore hung on (2-2), but nevertheless kept its first place ahead of Lille. Fourth before going to Lorient, Paris FC was surprised in Lorient and conceded its first defeat of the season (1-0). Finally, Brest simply crushed the Angers SCO, notably scoring four goals in the first act (5-1).
The results of the 8:45 p.m. multiplex:
PSG 3-1 Le Mans: Lucas Beraldo (19th, sp), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (61st), Maghnes Akliouche (68th) / Louis Mafoua (55th)
AS Monaco 2-2 Toulouse: Edan Diop (29th), Matthis Abline (39th) / Casper Tengstedt (48th, sp), Sion Oppong (59th)
Lorient 1-0 Paris FC: Gabin Bernardeau (69th)
Brest 5-1 Angers: Ludovic Ajorque (9th), Lucas Tousart (18th), Kenny Lala (30th, sp), Mama Baldé (45th), Pathé Mboup (54th) / Prosper Peter (47th)
