Paris go down at Stade Bollaert
Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first defeat of the season, going down 3-1 to in-form Lens on Matchday 17 of Ligue 1, this Sunday. Les Rouge et Bleu remain top of the standings.
Paris was expecting a thrilling and fierce encounter in Lens where Les Sang et Or hadn't lost all term. The clash was billed as a showcase of French football between the two best pupils of Ligue 1. With a number of players unavailable, Christophe Galtier came up with a new-look starting XI as Carlos Soler and Hugo Ekitike joined Kylian Mbappé in attack, and Achraf Hakimi switched to the left side of the defence.
The match burst into life from the outset. High intensity, fast paced, technically excellent, uncompromising duels... all the ingredients were present for this top of the table clash.
With their first foray into attack, Frankowski opened the scoring from close range (1-0, 5'). Les Rouge et Bleu responded immediately. Hugo Ekitike stole in at the front post, controlling and shooting into the back of the net (1-1, 9').
The two best defences in the league had been breached early before wresting back their control. Kylian Mbappé and Hugo Ekitike had a number of chances but could find no way through. At the other end of the pitch, Les Sang et Or gave as good as they got. And Fofana released Openda through to give the home side the lead (2-1, 30'), before Claude-Maurice extended the advantage shortly after the restart (3-1, 47').
It was a very open contest, with both teams going toe to toe, and the intensity was there from the first to the last minute. Coach Galtier injected new blood from the bench and our Parisians threw everything into an unbridled last half-hour. Lens were forced back, but Franck Haise's men were able to resist wave after wave of Parisian attack.
In the end, Paris couldn't find that crucial second goal to get back in the contest and suffered their first defeat of the season, against a Lens side that lived up to their reputation as the second-placed side in the land. Paris, however, remain top of the league! With the return of a number of key players, the capital club will be looking to bounce back quickly with the trip to Châteauroux this Friday in the Round-of-64 of the Coupe de France.