PSG title march slowed down with Lyon defeat

The capital side, which only has the league to salvage a disappointing season after being knocked out of the French Cup and the Champions League, fell victim to Bradley Barcola’s second-half goal.

Published : Apr 03, 2023 03:02 IST - 2 MINS READ

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi failed to make much impact as PSG fell to its second straight home defeat. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Paris Saint Germain’s title march towards the Ligue 1 title suffered another setback when it suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday.

The capital side, which only has the league to salvage a disappointing season after being knocked out of the French Cup and the Champions League, fell victim to Bradley Barcola’s second half goal and was left on 66 points from 29 games.

It leads second-placed RC Lens, which beat Stade Rennais 1-0 away on Saturday, by six points with third-placed Olympique de Marseille also on 60 points after a 1-1 draw with Montpellier on Friday.

The clash between PSG and Lyon started 10 minutes late after Laurent Blanc’s side faced transportation issues.

“We could no go under a bridge so we drove all around Paris,” Lyonnais assistant coach Ludovic Giuly said.

The delay did not disturb Lyon. It was awarded a penalty when Gianluigi Donnarumma made contact with Alexandre Lacazette in the area after a sharp counter attack from the visitors.

Lacazette, however, hit the Italian keeper’s right-hand post for the French striker’s first miss from the spot this season.

PSG, which had its best chance in the opening half through Renato Sanches, was denied a penalty on the stroke of the interval despite Dejan Lovren’s handball.

Barcola connected with Sael Kumbedi’s cross to finish it off with a soft shot and give Lyon the advantage in the 56th minute.

PSG failed to react as it could not manage a shot on target. Kylian Mbappe too failed to make much of an impact.

The France forward had his best chance in the first minute of stoppage time with a deflected shot that was tipped away by Lopes.

Lyonnais held firm until the final whistle and will head into Wednesday’s French Cup semi-final full of confidence while PSG, which was handed its fifth league defeat of the season, will need to regain composure with a top-of-the table clash against Lens in two weeks.