A totally dominant Paris share the points with Auxerre

After drawing at home to FC Nantes on the previous Matchday, Paris Saint-Germain had the chance to bounce back in Ligue 1 at the in-form Auxerre, before an important UEFA Champions League fixture on Tuesday at Salzburg.

Before thinking about Europe though, it was important to take all three points in Burgundy, at the home of the promoted team, to put pressure on the numerous challengers (Marseille, Monaco and Lille, who won earlier on Friday against Brest) who are looking to close the gap on the Parisian leaders.

Luis Enrique fielded an attacking eleven, with Lee starting alongside Barcola and Ramos, and the Rouge et Bleu applied pressure very early on. They made the most of their plentiful possession when Barcola broke down the left. His cross caused havoc, but was cleared, before Ruiz fired over (8').

It was Gonçalo Ramos who had the first shot on target of the match, when Hakimi, Lee and Ruiz combined and the latter sent in a perfect cross with his right foot. The Parisian No9, hungry for a goal, met it with a header, but Léon pulled off an exceptional save to prevent the Parisians from opening the scoring (17'). Then it was Mendes' turn to test the Auxerre keeper in a one-on-one situation after a neat one-two with Barcola. The Portuguese full-back's right-footed effort was turned away by Léon (33').

Lee came close to breaking the deadlock just before the break, with a fine left-footed effort from distance that went centimetres wide of the far corner (44'). After the break, the Rouge et Bleu continued their intense pressure in an attempt to finally break down the very low block that the home side were playing.

It was Ruiz's turn to try his luck from distance, but his well-curled effort just missed the target (53‘), and then Lee had another go from 25 metres out, but his shot was parried away by Léon, who did his best to keep it out (54’). The pressure intensified and Hakimi produced a superb effort in the area, only to be denied by Léon, who was taking great pleasure in keeping the ball out of his goal (56').

On the hour mark, the Paris coach introduced Dembélé and Kolo Muani to replace Barcola and Ramos, and Auxerre began to wobble. Vitinha even hit the bar with a brilliant piece of skill, controlling the ball as he turned, and his curling shot clipped Léon's crossbar (68'). Paris continued to fire and create openings, but the home side managed to bend without breaking...

Above all, thanks to their goalkeeper. Léon saved two more Parisian match points in stoppage time, from Kolo Muani (90'+3) and Doué (90'+4). He could do no wrong. In the end, Paris had to share the points with AJA, but above all with their goalkeeper, who rescued the draw with his gloves. The capital club are still top of Ligue 1, and must now turn their attention to Austria and Tuesday's European clash.