Published28. January 2024, 23:13
Football: Brest forces PSG to a draw
The Bretons drew on Sunday evening at the Parc de Princes and remain third in Ligue 1, 9 points behind the Parisians.
Kenny Lala and Brest cast doubt on Kylian Mbappé’s PSG (right).
AFP
PSG was held in check by Brest (2-2), Sunday during the shock of the 19th day of Ligue 1, and is now only six points ahead of Nice at the top of the standings, while Lille lost to Montpellier (0-0) a great opportunity to get back on the podium.
Surprise team of the season, Brest made the trip to the Parc des Princes with legitimate ambitions. The 3rd in L1 was on par with the Parisian individuals and proved that his current rank was not due to chance.
Carried by an uncontrollable Bradley Barcola and increasingly important within Luis Enrique’s eleven, the leader believed he had made the difference in the first period thanks to Marco Asensio (38th), at the conclusion of a magnificent collective action, and Randal Kolo Muani (45th).
But the Bretons reduced the score through Mahdi Camara (55th) before equalizing through Mathias Pereira Lage (80th) to further cool the atmosphere in the Park. Paris even finished the game with ten men after the exclusion of Barcola (94th).
Lille misses the boat
Two and a half weeks before the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League and the reception of Real Sociedad on February 14, PSG displayed rather worrying defensive limits, even if it still firmly holds the bar in the championship and keeps Nice, its first pursuer and winner of Metz on Saturday (1-0), at a good distance.
In the race for C1, Lille missed the boat in Montpellier. Uninspired and often tossed around by the Héraultais, LOSC stagnates in the ranking (5th) and is now three lengths behind Brest.
The exclusion shortly before the break (45th+2) of Ayyoub Bouaddi, who at 16 years and 118 days became the youngest player to receive a red card in L1 over the last 30 years, certainly did not make the task of the team easier. Northerners. But Paulo Fonseca’s team should have shown a completely different side to a team sailing in the second half of the table (12th) and which has only won once this season at home.
Without the multiple saves from its goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, Lille could even have left Mosson with a defeat.
Nantes breathes
Neighbor and old rival Lensois had more success in Toulouse (2-0). The former runner-up of PSG is still far from the heights (8th) but he has broken a small negative spiral of two matches without success.
After four consecutive losses, it is also a small improvement for Nantes (13th) and its coach Jocelyn Gourvennec. The Canaries brought back a point from Reims (0-0), which lost contact with the podium (6th), and came very close to victory, Tino Kadewere missing a penalty at the end of the match (73rd).
A week after eliminating Clermont on its lawn in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France (3-1), Strasbourg failed to do it again at the Gabriel-Montpied stadium (1-1) among the penultimate in the championship but remains undefeated for six matches (10th).
Fierce struggle to maintain
Lorient, the red lantern, for its part conceded an unfortunate draw in stoppage time at Moustoir against Le Havre (3-3). It was the Ghanaian veteran Andre Ayew, 34, who was the hero of the HAC with a double, including a fantastic return to offer the equalizer in stoppage time. Arriving in Le Havre last November, the former player of OM scored their first two goals in L1 since leaving France 8 and a half years ago.
The fight to stay is likely to be fierce until the end since only six lengths separate the Merlus from 12th place.
(AFP)