Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights between Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain played at the Stade de la Mosson in France. This was Aneesh Dey bringing you all the pre-match buildup and minute-by-minute updates of the clash.
PSG clinches a 3-1 win against Montpellier and extends its lead to five points at the top of the table.
GOOOALLL!! PSG SCORES ITS SECOND!! ZAIRE-EMERY SCORES HIS FIRST SENIOR GOAL!!
Four added minutes at the end of the second-half!!
GOOOALLL!! MONTPELLIER GETS ONE BACK!! NORDIN WITH THE GOAL!!
Hakimi’s shot with his weaker-left foot almost creeps inside the net. It had taken a deflection off the studs of Jullien, which changed the path of the ball.
Danilo lifts the ball for Messi who had timed his run well to remain onside. Messi takes a touch and shoots but Lecomte makes a good save to deny a second goal for the Argentine.
Messi and Sanches exchange a couple of passes as the Portuguese lays off the ball for the Argentine. Messi takes a first-time shot, trying to finesse the ball in the bottom left-corner, but misses the target by a whisker.
Montpellier subs: IN- Nordin, Fayad OUT- Chotard, Maouassa
Maouassa slides a dangerous through ball between two PSG players for Mavididi. However, the move ends as Mavidid made his run a tad bit early causing the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside.
Messi lifts a nice ball over the top of Zaire-Emery who shoots at goal on the half-turn. An already-diving Lecomte makes the save with his legs.
Montpellier with a good chance to pull one back after its freekick was not cleared properly by the PSG. Chotard dinked a good ball inside the box, which found Mavididi. The latter brought down the ball well and shot on the turn, but his shot was blocked by Marquinhos.
GOOOALLLLL!! PSG SCORES ITS SECOND!! MESSI WITH THE GOAL!! Ruiz threads a wonderful ball for Messi, who had timed his run perfectly, peeling off the back of Chotard. One-on-one with Lecomte, Messi slots his shot in the bottom-corner.
PSG subs: IN- Bernat, Warren Zaire-Emery OUT- Mendes, Vitinha
Danilo has gone down with a momentary injury. He should be okay to continue.
Messi takes a shot from the edge of the box but it takes a deflection and rolls to Lecomte who catches the ball without fuss.
Montpellier subs: IN- Faye, Ferri OUT- Germain , Leroy
OFF THE POST- Ekitike almost giving PSG its second goal of the match but his low shot hits the bar and goes out of play.
Sacko does well to curl a cross inside the box but it was too close to Donnarumma who catches the ball with ease.
Montpellier looking to get an immediate response with Maouassa making a brilliant run down the left. He fizzes a dangerous cross inside the box but there is no one inside the box to attack the cross.
GOOOOALLL!! PSG SCORES AGAIN AND THIS TIME IT STANDS!! RUIZ WITH THE GOAL!! Hakimi gets another chance but his shot is saved. The ball falls to Ekitike who passes the ball to Ruiz with his head, who was well-positioned to put the ball inside the net from close-range.
NO GOAL- Believe it or not, VAR has ruled out yet another PSG goal for offside.
GOOOALLLLL!! PSG FINALLY SCORES!! HAKIMI WITH A ROCKET OF A HIT!! Ekitike set up Hakimi for the shot with a nice touch and the Moroccan obliged with a clean shot. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and went inside the net.
PSG has started the second-half from where it had left in the first. Montpellier’s final third is constantly under threat but that final ball is lacking from Galtier’s men.
Close- Messi takes out three defenders with a deft touch and takes a shot from the edge of the box. He catches it well but it just off target as the ball hits the side-netting.
Match goalless as PSG and Montpellier kick-off the second-half at the Stade de la Mosson.
Two missed penalties and losing Mbappe and Ramos due to injury. It has been a rocky first-half for PSG. The match is goalless at the break.
PSG is keeping the ball in threatening areas around the Montpellier box, but cannot find a good opening to create a goalscoring chance.
Four minutes added on at the end of the first-half!!
Messi shoots from a freekick in a favourable position for the Argentine, but he cannot clear the wall.
PSG is dominating the ball with 73% possession but hasn’t created any chance in the last five minutes or so.
PSG is constantly threatening and looks the likelier team to score. However, Montpellier is hanging on till now and the match remains goalless.
NO GOAL- VAR rules out Messi’s goal. He was offiside when Soler played the ball to the Argentine with his head.
GOOOAALLLLL!! PSG SCORES!! IT’S MESSIII- Soler plays the ball to the Argentine at the far-post with a nice flick with his head. Messi, with the most delicate of touches, sends the ball over the line despite a late intervention by Kouyate.
PSG sub: IN- Renato Sanches OUT- Ramos
Ramos has suffered a concussion after a clash of heads and cannot continue. PSG can’t seem to catch a break in this game.
Ramos concedes a foul and Montpellier has a freekick in a dangerous position.
Savanier goes for goal from the freekick but his strike is well over the bar. That is a missed opportunity for the Montpellier skipper.
Messi tries to find space at the edge of the box and get his shot away but he is not given the time after being crowded out.
Barring a couple of brilliant touches, Messi is yet to find his footing in the match. With Neymar and Mbappe out, there is all the more pressure on the Argentine to score.
A forgettable first-half for Kylian Mbappe - first consecutive penalty misses and then the injury, forcing him to get subbed off. A rough night so far for the Frenchman and PSG.
PSG sub: IN- Ekitike OUT- Mbappe
It is the end of the night for Mbappe as he makes his way off the pitch. It might be a cautionary approach, keeping the Champions League match against Bayern Munich in mind.
Problems for PSG- Mbappe has gone down and it seems like a hamstring issue. It is a direct effect of Leroy’s challenge earlier in the half.
Mbappe with a low cross inside the box from the left, but Jullien is there to mop up the danger. Soler was sneaking around the near-post to get a touch.
Hakimi’s deep cross at the back post finds Ramos but the Spaniard cannot get a decent touch of the ball under pressure.
Montpellier needs to make good use of its early luck here at home. Not everyday Kylian Mbappe misses consecutive penalties and fails to tap the ball inside the open net.
Kouyate is down after clashing with Sergio Ramos. The referee immediately stops play as it is a head injury.
MBAPPE MISSES AGAIN- Lecomte saves Mbappe’s penalty again but cannot clear the danger. The ball hits the bar and comes back to Mbappe who had to tap the ball inside the open net. However, he cannot keep his shot in control and blazes the ball above the goal. Mbappe’s misfortune from the spot continues against Montpellier.
Early drama- Mbappe will have a second chance as Lecomte was off his line when Mbappe took his first penalty. What a start we are off to at the Stade de la Mosson.
MBAPPE DENIED- Lecomte guesses the right way and he saves Mbappe’s penalty.
Booking- Jullien sees a yellow card for bringing down Ramos.
PENALTY- Ramos is brought down inside the box by Jullien and PSG have an early penalty in the first-half.
Mbappe gets past his an with a sudden burst of pace and plays a nice one-two with Messi. However, he cannot keep the ball as Sacko clears the danger.
Montpellier needs to be disciplined in today’s match against a strong opposition. The team has seen seven red cards in the season till now.
A shaky start for PSG as Montpellier threatens down the left channel. Leroy’s cross was not dealt with initially by the PSG defence, causing momentary danger, but the defending champions recover and get the ball away.
Match between Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain kicks-off at the Stade de la Mosson in France
Stat-attack!
- Montpellier has lost nine of its last 10 league matches against PSG, including each of the last seven. Over those 10 games, Montpellier has conceded 37 goals- an average of 3.7 per game.
- Since Ligue 1 resumed after the World Cup, PSG is only 11th in the table with just seven points and a goal difference of 0. Montpellier is 14th with 6 points and a goal difference of -5.
- PSG has lost its last two Ligue 1 away games (1-3 vs Lens and 0-1 vs Rennes) and has not lost its first three away games of a calendar year in the top-flight since 2001 (5).
Montpellier vs PSG: Head-to-head record
Montpellier vs PSG: Starting Lineups!!
12:20 AM: Lineups out soon. Stay tuned for latest updates from the match.
Match Preview
Leader Paris St Germain will be without Neymar at Montpellier in Ligue 1 on Wednesday with the Brazil forward suffering from “muscle fatigue” as the capital side struggle for form.
PSG has 48 points from 20 games and have seen their advantage dwindle to three points over second-placed RC Lens.
Christophe Galtier’s side have had a mediocre start to 2023, losing their last two away games at Lens and Rennes before being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Stade de Reims on Sunday.
Predicted lineups
They host Bayern Munich in their Champions League last 16 first leg on Feb. 14.
“I have spoken to the squad, we need to get some consistency back in our performances but there are times in a season where it’s more difficult,” Galtier told a news conference on Tuesday.
PSG will also be without midfielder Marco Verratti, who is suspended after picking up a straight red card on Sunday just 14 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.
“We have to rediscover the right formula in midfield. We need more density and more fluidity,” Galtier explained.
“We need more rigour and (must) make more efforts collectively. We used to do this in the first months of the season. Everyone needs to look into their own performances and what they are doing for the team.”
Against Reims, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi started together for the first time this year but barely defended, leaving the team split in two and vulnerable at the back.
“We have three incredibly talented offensive players and playing without one of them to be more balanced would be a mistake,” said Galtier.
“We have been solid with the three of them together before. We, however, can’t be satisfied with the Reims game.”
-Reuters
Comments
SHARE