Ligue 1: Denayer and Lyon beaten by PSG who take the lead, Neymar back
VSleader change: Lille bowed against all expectations against the poorly classified Nîmes (2-1) on Sunday for the 30th day of Ligue 1, leaving Paris SG to take control after their victory against Lyon (4-2).
While they could put pressure on the Lyonnais and the Parisians, the Northerners did the opposite and seem to skate at the worst time, two weeks before going to challenge PSG at the Parc des Princes in a clash between the new leader on goal difference and his runner-up.
Beaten on goals from Moussa Koné (12th) and Renaud Ripart (45th) against a header from Xeka (20th), the Mastiffs live a less prosperous period: dryly eliminated from the Coupe de France in Paris on Wednesday (3-0), they In addition, have only won 2 of their last 6 L1 games.
Nîmes for its part made a very good deal at the bottom of the table and came out of the relegation zone (18th and jump-off, 29 pts), in which Nantes plunged (28 pts).
At the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, Lille was a huge favorite but the meeting quickly turned badly when the restless Koné opened the scoring (0-1, 12th).
At the origin of the action, Zinedine Ferhat found in depth Niclas Eliasson. In the duel, the Swede tackled the ball towards Koné, who propelled it into the skylight with a forceful strike from the right foot.
Despite this setback, Lille remained in their game plan and their first real opportunity was the right one. Left alone at the far post on a corner taken by Jonathan Bamba, Xeka stole a header on which the goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet was not imperial (1-1, 20th).
In the process, a cross from the right was missed by Timothy Weah, alone at the penalty spot, then Bamba did not frame his curled attempt (25th).
Well in place in the defensive phase, Nîmes came out of the woods just before the break on a magnificent action: doubling of passes between Birger Meling and Ferhat on the left side and deep opening of the second towards Ripart, whose outside of the right pique deceived Mike Maignan (1-2, 45th).
Master of the ball but not sharp enough (71% possession at the break, 8 shots to 7), Lille, deprived of Jonathan Ikoné, package at the last moment for an ankle injury, threw new blood at the break with the entry of Luiz Araujo instead of Weah.
A change that has not changed the face of a match played on a linear pace, where the Losc, often powerless, encountered a solid low block. And on one of the few defensive omissions in Gard, the goal scored by Burak Yilmaz was refused for a slight offside (57th).
The central defender Sven Botman left on injury (75th) and the minutes passing without the opportunities arriving, Lille went to three behind to intensify the pressure. A tactical change that has not changed the facts of the problem facing a very tightly regrouped Nîmes team.
The match was finally animated in the last minutes: center cleared in disaster by Meling (89th), too axial head stuck signed Yilmaz (90th), shot from Ripart deflected by Maignan (90th + 1), face to face lost by Renato Sanches (90th + 2) and header off target by Yilmaz (90th + 4). The symbol of awakening too late awkward Lille.
PSG at the top
With a double from Kylian Mbappé, a hundred-year-old scorer in Ligue 1, Paris SG tamed Lyon (4-2) on Sunday and regained the first place occupied since the end of January Lille, surprised by Nîmes (2-1).
This is what is called setting the record straight, just before the international break and the switch to summer time: PSG signed in Lyon a convincing victory against a direct opponent in the title race , recalling that he would not give up his crown of champion of France without a fight.
The Parisians, who remained on a 2-1 defeat against Nantes in L1, reacted in the space of three days: first by eliminating Lille on Wednesday in the Coupe de France (3-0), and then by dominating the Lyonnais, yet winners in Paris mid-December (1-0). Promising before a stifling April, with in particular the double confrontation against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals (April 7-13) …
As often, PSG relied on the flashes of Mbappé, scorer between the legs of a defender and goalkeeper (15th), then after a supersonic tumble (52nd), to reach 100 goals in L1. Cautious before finding the Blues, the top scorer in the championship (20 goals) then gave up his place for the last twenty minutes to Neymar, injured since February, who has finally made his comeback to competition.
To add to the score, defensive midfielder Danilo scored as a pivot (32nd) and Angel Di Maria sent an off-center free kick to the bottom that nobody cut (47th). And when Islam Slimani (62nd) and Maxwel Cornet (81st) kept up Lyon’s hope, Keylor Navas’ stops avoided any unpleasant surprises for the Parisians.