The background:
After the 6-1 hammering of Red Star Belgrade, the Parc experienced another match with a distinctly European flavour as fellow UEFA Champions League side OL came calling. On Sunday night, Lyon came to the capita looking to snag a place on the podium, while the Parisians were looking to set a record for the best-ever start to a Ligue 1 season! Spicy ingredients for a spectacular match…
The facts:
Early on, this fixture brought back memories from nine months ago when, in Lyon in January, Lopes clattered into Mbappé as the Parisian burst in to the area (8e). This time, there was no KO for the young star, but rather a right-hook for OL as Neymar Jr calmly converted his seventh Ligue 1 penalty (1-0, 9')! Then the visitors had to deal with a match-ending injury to captain Nabil Fekir (7') on night that would prove full of the unpredictable… Kimpembe (red card, 34') and then Tousart (second yellow 45'+1) both received their marching orders while Buffon astutely read the angles to deny Memphis (13') and then Aouar (44'). Up until the break, the match was electric, lit up by a fascinating tactical and technical duel, but in the second half it move into the realm of the fantastic…
Mbappé's duel with Lopes continued and initially went in favour of Les Gones' 'keeper thanks to some explosive saves (47', 56', 60'). Denied three times, Kylian responded by one-upping the Portugal international - with a quadruple! Be it with a clinical snap-shot (2-0, 62'), by tackling the ball in the net (3-0, 66'), beating his man (4-0, 69') or on the turn (5-0, 74'), Mbappé proved UNSTOPPABLE! In the space of five days, the Parc saw no fewer than 11 goals from their warriors, who in the process wrote a new page in the annals of French football history by clinching a ninth-straight victory since the beginning of the season. A record that stands out even for a club that collects as many of the mas Paris Saint-Germain.
A Parisian in the match: Kylian Mbappé
In the space of 12 minutes and 56 seconds, a phenomenon swept Olympique Lyonnais aside while also underlining his stunning precocity. In just under 13 minutes, Mbappé had enough time to put four goals past Lopes and become the youngest player (19 and nine months) to score a Ligue 1 quadruple in the last 45 years. The huge haul rocketed him to the top of the division's scoring chart on eight goals, level with… Ney!
The word: Post(s)
As the clock ticked over to 22:20 at the Parc, the sell-out crowd - and fans watching around the world - experienced an incredible minute of football. In fewer than 60 seconds, Cornet inadvertently hit Buffon's post as he deflected Thiago Silva's attempted clearance. When Mbappé broke on the counter from the resulting restart - needless to say, at lightning pace - his angled shot beat Lopes… but not the post! The 53rd minute of the match illustrated perfectly the extraordinary nature of this encounter… as did Mbappé's first goal, which crossed Lopes' line after hitting BOTH posts! You know what happened next…
Coming up:
After an incredible start to the season over the first two months of competition, the Parisians will have a breather during the international break. During this fortnight, a large number of the players will go out on international duty. When they return, the pattern will be the same, with two matches at the Parc in the space of four days: against Amiens in Ligue 1 and then versus Napoli in the Champions League.