LOSC outclass Paris

An evening to file away as a painful memory and move on from - that's the summary for an evening that saw Paris taste defeat in the north.

The evening began inauspiciously for Paris, with Mbappé having a goal ruled out for off-side just as he thought he had drawn first blood for the champions elect (2'). And then Lille compounded the unfortunate impression buy getting the opening goal as Meunier inadvertently beat Areola after Ikoné had crossed (1-0, 7'). However, three minutes and 30 seconds later, things looked up for the capital club as Mbappé conjured a superb pass to play Bernat in for his maiden Ligue 1 Conforama strike (1-1, 11'). Kylian then looked to turn scorer once again, beating Maignan only to have his effort ruled out for off-side once again (13')… This double denial was mirrored by a double loss for Paris, who saw Thiago Silva (14') and then Meunier (24') leave the pitch injured. And then Bernat saw red for a challenge on the mercurial Pépé, who had threatened to skin him (36'). The first 45 minutes were filled with some very technical phases and some electric passages of play from Paris, but with one player fewer, it was complicated.

20 furious minutes

After the break, Pépé once again weighed in, putting Lille ahead from an Ikoné assist (2-1, 51'). Les Dogues clearly had the advantage in terms of cutting edge and took full advantage of being in the ascendancy by going two goals clear thanks to Bamba's crisp strike (3-1, 65') and the breaking clear thanks to Gabriel's header (4-1, 71'). Areola managed to deny Pépé (74') and a missile from Bamba (83'), but it wasn't enough to shut Lille down, with Jose Fonte rounding out the scoring with a triumphant header (5-1, 84').

A man down and hampered by numerous absences, Paris Saint-Germain clocked their second defeat of the Ligue 1 Conforama season, away to their nearest rival. So, the party to celebrate their eighth title was put on hold, but at any rate it seemed their hearts weren't in it completely. The season has been a real marathon, peppered with obstacles, and even with a 20-point lead, a league leader can take a false step. And thus the main lesson of the evening emerged: no-one is ever guaranteed a title, as dominating your competition demands consistency. The crown is awarded for victory in the long game, but obviously we're all hoping for the deal to be done sooner rather than later - hopefully away to Nantes on Wednesday, when the Ligue 1 Conforama crown will once again be on the line.