Lorient vs. Paris Saint-Germain: Winners and Losers from Ligue 1 Game

First-half goals from Hervin Ongenda and Blaise Matuidi were enough to give Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 victory over FC Lorient on Saturday afternoon.

PSG manager Laurent Blanc gave league debuts to Presnel Kimpembe and Ongenda for the match at the Stade du Moustoir, and the latter helped his side to all three points, scoring the first goal and playing a role in the second.

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FT #LOR 1-2 #PSG (via @StatsZone): PSG's two goals from their #Ligue1 win tonight: Ongenda and Matuidi scoring. pic.twitter.com/2MXWqFUfK7

— Stats Zone (@StatsZone) November 21, 2015 "

It wasn't the best performance from the league leaders. Lorient were bright and dangerous for 25 minutes, but the shock of going two down stunned them.

PSG took their foot off the gas in the second half and failed to push their advantage further. Slack defending let the hosts back into the match, but luckily for the Parisians, Sylvain Ripoll's side couldn't find an equaliser.

Here are the winners and losers from PSG's 2-1 win over Lorient.

Winner: Hervin Ongenda

JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/Getty Images

Ongenda made it 1-0 to PSG.

In a surprise move, Blanc named Hervin Ongenda in his starting lineup on Saturday. Not only was it Ongenda's first start, but his first appearance all season—he didn't let his coach down.

The young forward was involved in both PSG's first-half goals and will be happy with his overall performance.

You need an element of fortune in these situations, and poor marking from Lamine Gamassa, plus an uncharacteristic moment of slack goalkeeping from Benjamin Lecomte helped Ongenda's finish give PSG the lead.

Moments before the second goal, Ongenda felt the wrath of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede made it known that he should have timed his run better—but on second viewing, the pass should have been earlier.

Minutes later, the pass came earlier, Ongenda fed Zlatan down the left, and his cross picked out the trademark run from Matuidi. The midfielder found the finish.

Loser: Lamine Gassama

JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/Getty Images

Gassama had a tough night.

If up against PSG’s star-studded attack, you can sometimes forgive defenders for being overrun, but on Saturday, Lamine Gassama was up against a player making his first appearance of the season.

The right-back lost Ongenda’s run for the first goal and then was absent as the goalscorer linked up with Ibrahimovic to create the second goal.

Gassama’s day was nearly made worse when Lecomte had to pull out a fantastic save to stop the defender heading into his own net.

Loser: Gregory van der Wiel and Thiago Silva

DAMIEN MEYER/Getty Images

Silva lost Moukandjo for his goal.

For 81 minutes, it was hard to pick fault in PSG's defensive performance. However, at the very top level, and with a team dominating the way they have in Ligue 1, you need to be switched on and attentive for the full 90 minutes.

Lorient were not great on Saturday. They showed promise for 25 minutes before going 2-0 down, and they shouldn't have found any road back into the game.

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FT: Lorient 1-2 PSG. Ongenda & Matuidi goals enough for the visitors, but Moukandjo made it a nervy finish. Pretty poor second half. #FCLPSG

— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) November 21, 2015"

Down the Lorient left, Gregory van der Wiel switched off and was beaten too easily by substitute Romain Philippoteaux, who picked out Benjamin Moukandjo for his 10th goal of the season.

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PSG couldn't throw this away could they?! It's been a typical care-free second half from them. #FCLPSG

— Rich Allen (@rich_allen85) November 21, 2015"

Once the cross was delivered, Thiago Silva was nowhere to be seen, leaving Ligue 1's top scorer unmarked only yards from goal. Luckily the home side couldn't find an equaliser, but that doesn't forgive the poor defending.

Loser: Lucas Moura

JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/Getty Images

It was almost predictable from the inconsistent Lucas Moura.

After two excellent performances off the bench, Blanc gave the Brazilian a start, and he disappointed.

There were a couple of impressive runs, but take away the initial piece of skill and there was no end product. WhoScored.com rated Lucas the poorest of the three forwards on the day—and it's hard to argue with their rating.

This backs up why Blanc has resisted using Lucas in the Champions League this season.