Paris held in Strasbourg

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The context
Unbeaten in their last 15 Ligue 1 games, Paris Saint-Germain arrived at La Meinau to face an eighth-placed Strasbourg side that had won three of their last five home matches. And the Parisians had been beaten here almost a year ago to the day...

Key moments
The way the game would go quickly became apparent. Paris Saint-Germain laid siege to the Alsatian penalty area from the off, though didn't manage to make good on their domination. Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (4') and then Adrien Rabiot (11') with a header and Thomas Meunier with a shot (16') all threatened, but it was Strasbourg who broke the deadlock. After VAR had been used, Thilo Kehrer was adjudged to have handled the ball, and Kenny Lala did not pass up the opportunity from the spot (1-0, 41'). For only the second time this season, the capital club was behind at the break.

The restart saw Paris Saint-Germain step up a gear or three, and the half-time introduction of Kylian Mbappé had a lot to do with that. Matz Sels was also involved with Strasbourg holding on to their lead thanks to their goalkeeper, who produced a brilliant reflex save from Kehrer's powerful header (51'). Edinson Cavani thought he had equalised but his goal was ruled out (58') and El Matador then sent a free-kick just wide of the top corner (63'). His tenth goal of the season would have to wait until 19 minutes from time when he swept home a penalty earned by Mbappé bamboozling Lala into a foul (1-1, 71'). Paris hopes faded as time ticked down, and there was a hint of relief at the final whistle, which came just after Adrien Thomasson's strike had been ruled out (90+5'). 

A Parisian in the match: Kylian Mbappé
Just like at Guingamp or Marseille, Mbappé's entrance changed the face of the team. His delightful pass for Kehrer (51'), his shot just wide (52') and his move to earn the penalty were all strokes of genius.

The word: Repeat
The Parisians had been warned, but it was still a case of deja vu all over again. Outrageous domination symbolised by 20 shots while their opponents had four, but the point means the unbeaten start continues.

Coming up
With Saturday's match against Montpellier called off, the next game comes on Tuesday in Belgrade (kick-off 21:00CET) where Paris' UEFA Champions League hopes will be played out over 90 minutes against Crvena Zvezda.