PSG Remain in Ligue 1 Title Hunt Following Draw at Lyon

Paris Saint-Germain remain in the hunt for the Ligue 1 title and three other competitions after securing a 1-1 draw away at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday. Les Gones’ Clinton Njie opened the scoring at Stade Gerland with a well-worked goal, but Lindsay Rose’s rash challenge presented Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a chance to equalise from the penalty spot.

Claude Paris/Associated Press

The Swede, surprisingly, needed asking twice after the superb Anthony Lopes kept out his first tame effort. Referee Clement Turpin correctly ruled that the kick needed to be retaken after Lyon players were guilty of encroachment.

In truth, PSG’s goal was deserved, even if the actual leveller came about in controversial circumstances.

Laurent Blanc’s men played some of their best football so far this year in Lyon, particularly during the second half, with only the superlative Lopes standing between Les Parisiens and one or two more goals on the night.

Le President was encouraged by his team's performance and paid tribute to the hosts' net minder after the match (PSG.fr):

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When we are not satisfied with a result, of course we are frustrated. Our first half was quite good, but we lacked bite in attack. In the second half, it was much better. The Lyon 'keeper made a number of saves. We tried hard to win, but Lopes was excellent this evening. We could have earned more than a point, but without the penalty, we could have lost as well. We need to continue in this manner, because in terms of our football, it was very encouraging. All the same, we need to be more determined to hurt our opponents.

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It was harsh on an excellent Lyon side to concede in that manner, but the French champions were good value for their one goal and a point apiece was just about a fair result. OptaJean provided an interesting stat regarding Anthony Lopes' Ligue 1 play:

The 1-1 draw keeps OL top by two points, clear of Olympique de Marseille, who lead third-placed PSG by virtue of having scored more goals. But the result also keeps the capital club alive on four separate fronts.

Blanc’s players have already reached a second consecutive Coupe de la Ligue final, they are in Coupe de France round-of-16 action against FC Nantes on Wednesday, and they are also about to embark on a testing two-legged tie with Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League.

Claude Paris/Associated Press

Although they will not have seen too much in the Lyon draw to worry them, Jose Mourinho’s men will be wary that they are coming up against an improving PSG side that is slowly but surely beginning to remember how to grind out results and remain unbeaten for large stretches.

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Despite all of Edinson Cavani’s best attempts to waste all of PSG’s chances on a shocking night for the Uruguayan, Blanc’s men grit their teeth and put in a strong second-half display in which they peppered the Lyon goal. Lopes denied Cavani on a number of occasions, also making two stunning saves from Ibrahimovic headers.

The defence settled down after Njie’s opener; Marquinhos was once again solid and reliable at right-back, while captain Thiago Silva kept his all-Brazilian back line tight in the face of some good build-up play from Lyon.

Although Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi were disappointing, Marco Verratti shone brightly as he has done so often this season. The Italian was excellent on and off the ball, snapping into a number of key tackles but remaining disciplined and well-behaved. OptaJean noted Ibrahimovic's scoring pattern:

It was Verratti who won the PSG penalty by tempting the rusty Rose to go to ground in his penalty area. Although contact and intent were questionable, the Frenchman needs to know better than to commit himself like that. The Azzurri star made the most of the tackle, and Ibrahimovic converted the penalty.

Claude Paris/Associated Press

Overall, it was the right result, even if the nature of PSG’s equaliser did not reflect the fact that they deserved a goal for all of their chances created and a surprisingly inventive display, despite the absence of chief instigator Javier Pastore through injury.

A point is enough to keep the defending champions in touch with Lyon and Marseille at the top, and provided that they do not take their eye off the ball against some of Le Championnat’s lower lights in the coming weeks, they are well-placed in this title race. OptaJean pointed out Olympique Lyonnais' longstanding record of winning record at home when leading at half-time:

OL have a tough run of away fixtures coming up, while PSG have some winnable home games. Blanc needs to get his side to replicate their performance from Stade Gerland, in terms of chances created, in order for the ride through those games to be smoother than it would have been in recent form.

The biggest positive to take from Lyon 1-1 PSG is the fact that Ligue 1 has a genuine title race on its hands and a very nice one at that.