At the end of the suspense, Paris defeats Brest!
It rained, it shone and there were a few thunderstorms: Paris Saint-Germain came out on top against Brest on Matchday 10 of Ligue 1 at the end of a lively encounter (2-3). Here's a look back at the victory.
A rainbow at lunchtime: that's what was on the menu for the Rouge et Bleu this Sunday morning in Brittany. Four days after the prestigious win against AC Milan (3-0), the capital's players travelled to Brest, where no other team have managed to win since the start of the season. All this at 1PM, an unprecedented time for Luis Enrique. With this tricky schedule and the problem of injuries, the Spanish coach, without his captain Marquinhos, had reshuffled his team, with the return of Danilo, Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos to his starting XI.
This time, our Parisians had no choice but to proceed with the utmost caution. This Stade Brestois side, sitting nicely near the top of the table, had some real quality as they had demonstrated in their own stadium since the start of the season. They needed to face headwinds - in the literal sense too, with particularly capricious weather.
A ray of sunshine and then a hailstorm: This Sunday, on the pitch, it was similar to the Breton sky, and we saw it all.
The first half-hour was a delight, with the Rouge et Bleu taking the ball and smothering their opponents, while at the same time posing a real threat. Right from the start, Kang-in Lee, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi all made bright runs forward. And this strategy quickly paid off! Following some silky work by Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaïre-Emery made light work of his opposite number before finding an angle to unleash a marvellous shot that hit the target (0-1, 16'). A 100% French goal!
In all the right areas - recovery, build-up, finishing - our jewel once again dazzled the afternoon with his talent. And it was another ambassador of French football who made the breakthrough, with the unstoppable Kylian Mbappé. Set going like a high-speed train by Kang-in Lee, Paris' top scorer completed one of his specials to perfection, closing his foot to slide the ball in at the near post (0-2, 28').
The fact remains that the sun can change very quickly in Brittany. And the storm hit the Stade Francis-Le Blé at the worst possible moment for the Parisians. It was like a warning from Mother Nature, and from Eric Roy's men, who first reduced the score through Mounié (1-2, 44'), before making our Parisians tremble again, equalising 8 minutes later with a back-heel from Le Douaron (2-2, 52nd). After the cold shower, we had to throw all our energy into the battle.
And it's often said that after the rain comes the sunshine, isn't it? The result was Luis Enrique's winning coaching move! Randal Kolo Muani, thrown into the fray, won a penalty after a VAR check. And our weatherman, Kylian Mbappé, converted it in double-quick time to give the Parisians an oh-so-valuable win, as if to cultivate that wonderful habit of deciding the fate of a match (2-3, 89').
And it was with this scoreline, in a match that had become very electric, that our Rouge et Bleu came out on top, by the skin of their teeth. After a lively encounter, Paris Saint-Germain have now completed a three-peat in Ligue 1 with an important victory in Brest. An excellent result, confirming, if proof were needed, that our Rouge et Bleu have moved up a gear in this breathless French championship. We look forward to extending our winning streak against Montpellier next Friday, when the Parisians return to the Parc des Princes...