Paris top the league at mid-season after a win over Les Verts!

A week after claiming their first title of the season with a 1-0 victory over AS Monaco in the Trophée des Champions, Paris Saint-Germain returned to Ligue 1 action and the Parc des Princes to face ASSE. To secure a win against Les Verts, Luis Enrique fielded a central defensive pairing of Lucas Hernandez and Lucas Beraldo, with Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal. On the right side of defence, Achraf Hakimi wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Marquinhos, who was still present at the Parc to present the club's 13th Trophée des Champions to the crowd.

Nuno Mendes started on the left, while Fabian Ruiz, Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-In made up a very attacking midfield. In attack, Gonçalo Ramos started at center forward, supported by Ousmane Dembélé on the right and Bradley Barcola on the left. From the very first moments, Les Stéphanois, energised by the arrival of a new coaching team, displayed a determined attitude, similar to their victory over Reims the previous week. Zuriko Davitashvili was the first to take a shot, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made a save (1'). Five minutes later, Lucas Hernandez made a crucial intervention to stop the Georgian international (6').

Fueled by the electric atmosphere at the Parc des Princes, the Parisians quickly responded through Senny Mayulu, forcing Gautier Larsonneur into a save (8'). After a particularly intense first quarter of an hour, it was Paris who struck first, thanks to a brilliant solo run by Ousmane Dembélé, finished off with a powerful shot into the near post (1-0, 13'). Les Stéphanois' momentum was dampened by the more clinical Rouge et Bleu, who came close to doubling their lead shortly after with a floating shot from Lee Kang-In, which was well saved by Larsonneur (16').

But the goalkeeper and captain of Les Verts could do nothing when Ousmane Dembélé, once again, scored a brace with a powerful penalty following a handball (2-0, 23'). This sent the Parc des Princes into pandemonium, as the visitors remained determined but helpless. The rhythm was set by the club from the capitsal, who relied on Bradley Barcola's dynamism to keep the Stéphanois defence under constant pressure. The Parisian winger first forced a save from Larsonneur (35') before his goal was ruled out for a slight foul (39'). Just before the break, Gonçalo Ramos provided the final Parisian scare of the first half, but he couldn't quite direct a Nuno Mendes cross on target (45'+1).

Les Parisiens started the second half with the same mindset, forcing their opponents to defend deep in their half. On the left wing, Bradley Barcola continued to trouble Dennis Appiah, but the French international was again denied by a crucial save from Gautier Larsonneur (53'). The visitors' goalkeeper single-handedly kept his team in the game, making his 7th save of the match when he denied Gonçalo Ramos' attempt from close-range (61'). These numerous stops allowed Saint-Étienne to get back into the match when Zuriko Davitashvili scored his 6th league goal of the season with a direct free kick (2-1, 64'). However, Paris remained confident in their abilities, continuing to control the game while Les Verts struggled to get anywhere near Gianluigi Donnarumma's goal.

It was Les Parisiens who created the final chances of the match, although they couldn’t quite find a third goal. Against a fearless Saint-Étienne side, Paris Saint-Germain secured a victory in their return to the Parc des Princes. This marked their second consecutive win of the year, keeping them 7 points clear of Marseille at the top of Ligue 1. Now, the focus shifts to the Coupe de France, where the Rouge et Bleu will travel to Clermont-Ferrand on Wednesday to face FC Espaly, (who ply their trade in National 3), in the Round of 32. The match will kick off at 21:00 at the Stade Marcel-Michelin!