Paris and Lille cancel each other out in the battle for the top

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Paris Saint-Germain and Lille ended Matchday 16 of Ligue 1 (0-0) with a point apiece. A look back on the encounter.

It was a huge challenge that awaited Les Parisiens on Sunday. An end of year clash against the current league leaders at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, where the home side are yet to lose this season. For the clash, Thomas Tuchel opted for his 3-5-2 system, with an attacking duo of Di Maria-Kean leading the line.

The tone was set from the very get go, with both sides bringing a lot of intensity to their games. Les Parisiens kept their concentration and set out to press Les Lillois to stop them from launching rapid attacks. It has to be said that they needed to step up their vigilance to deal with Christophe Galtier's attacking quartet, who are formidable on the counter-attack (8'). The first half an hour was also dominated by a huge battle in midfield, with huge density, leading to a lack of clear-cut chances.

Led by Marquinhos - who never hesitated to step into midfield to drive forward the Paris block - Les Parisiens remained patient as they built their attacks. A technical quality epitomised by the connection between Rafinha - Di Maria, the Brazilian making the most of a ball into the box by the Argentine to head dangerously at goal (25'), before the latter tried his luck from a free-kick (31').

And although the first half came to a close after a strong period of pressure from Les Parisiens and two excellent opportunities, the reflexes of Mike Maignan prevented his former club from taking the lead. After the break, the visitors continued to dominate and saw Moise Kean get three chances (51', 55', 58'). Les Parisiens never gave up, with Rafinha and Marco Verratti providing impetus and the inexhaustible Alessandro Florenzi continuing to pressure down his wing.

But they equally never dropped their efforts defensively to prevent the home side, as was demonstrated by the heroic showing from Presnel Kimpembe, who put his body on the line to deny Burak Yilmaz's counter-attack with a crunching tackle (78'). And despite several late runs from Kylian Mbappé, who had come on for the final ten minutes, the score wouldn't change in a match that was only missing goals.

Les Parisiens head home with a point from their final away trip of the year. A draw against a quality opposition. On Wednesday, Les Rouge et Bleu will bring 2020 to a close with the visit of Strasbourg to the Parc des Princes. A final outing before a deserved break for the French champions, who are still in the running in all competitions.