After a fine fight, Paris fall against Strasbourg

Paris Saint-Germain returned to Ligue 1 action on Saturday afternoon, a few days after their victory over Arsenal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. The capital club faced another perilous trip to the heat of the Stade de la Meinau against a Strasbourg side fighting for European qualification. With the second leg against Arsenal looming, Luis Enrique opted to field a reshuffled line-up, with Axel Tape making his Ligue 1 debut in central defence. The young Titi formed an unprecedented partnership with Lucas Beraldo in front of the goal guarded by Matveï Safonov, while Lucas Hernandez and Warren Zaïre-Emery, the captain for the day, took up positions on the flanks. In midfield, the Spanish coach decided to keep Joao Neves, supported by Kang-In Lee and Senny Mayulu. In attack, Ibrahim Mbaye took his place on the right side, with Bradley Barcola on the opposite flank, with Gonçalo Ramos up front.

Despite the back-to-back games and the atmosphere at the Meinau, it didn't take long for our Rouge et Bleu to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Following a fine link up between Bradley Barcola and Lee Kang-In, Gonçalo Ramos could only get his shoulder to the South Korean's cross. The first glimmer of hope came in the next minute, when Senny Mayulu, who had been particularly lively in the early stages of the game, had two chances to score. Totally suffocated in the first quarter of an hour, the Alsatians had their first corner following an initial attempt that was blocked by Axel Tape. The set-piece smiled favourably on Strasbourg, who managed to open the scoring against the run of play after Lucas Hernandez deflected the ball into his own net following Sarr's diving header (1-0, 20').

The first goal was all that was needed to kick-start this duel between two of the most skilful teams in the top flight. Liam Rosenior's side, spurred on by the home crowd, increased the intensity of their play and came ever closer to Matveï Safonov's goal, the keeper won his first one-on-one with Emegha, who was flagged offside anyway. The Rouge et Bleu reacted quickly, Gonçalo Ramos with a shot from a tight angle, but to no avail. Looking to reset the balance before the break, Paris moved higher up the pitch, leaving several opportunities for the Alsatians to counter-attack.

Emegha was sent clear and once again found himself up against Safonov, but the Rouge et Bleu goalkeeper was alert to save at the Dutchman's feet. Just as the capital club were finishing the first half well, Strasbourg punished Paris once again. Diarra played the ball down the right and found Félix Lemaréchal in the middle, who volleyed past Safonov from outside the area (2-0, 45' +3).

Luis Enrique made his first changes immediately after the restart. Lee Kang-In, injured at the end of the first half, was replaced by Désiré Doué, while Noham Kamara made his professional debut, coming on for Lucas Hernandez. These changes made an immediate difference, as the club from the capital managed to reduce the deficit from the outset following a fantastic solo run by Bradley Barcola, who raced up half of the pitch on his left flank before firing past Petrovic (2-1, 46'). With the second half well underway, the Parisians stepped up their attack on the Alsatian goal. One after the other, Mbaye and Barcola came up against Strasbourg's rigid defence.

Fabian Ruiz came on for Joao Neves on the hour mark. The Spanish international immediately showed his desire to make a difference by unleashing a clear shot from a tight angle, forcing the Strasbourg keeper into a save. As the minutes wore on, Paris took more and more control of the ball, getting closer to their opponents' box. Désiré Doué was omnipresent at the end of the game and twice tried his luck, but lacked the accuracy to trouble the Alsatian keeper.

Even the Titis were doing themselves proud in the closing minutes, as Mbaye's first attempt showed. Receiving the ball 20 metres out, the Parisian midfielder showed great inspiration to try his luck, but to no avail. Despite the back-to-back games and the fatigue of a second away trip in the space of a few days, the capital club showed relentless fighting spirit to try and equalise. Doué, as thunderous as ever, was elusive on the left flank and sent in a pinpoint cross for Gonçalo Ramos, whose header was unfortunately unable to find the back of the net.

Buoyed by his home crowd, Petrovic pulled off a series of miraculous saves to deny Mbaye, Barcola and then Ramos. Despite their desire and numerous chances, Paris came up short against a solid Strasbourg side. All eyes now turn to the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal. Winners by a narrow margin in London a few days ago, our Rouge et Bleu have a date with destiny on Wednesday at the Parc des Princes. The stage is set!