After the victory in Haifa and before the international break, Paris Saint-Germain opened a two-point gap over Marseille at the top of the French league this evening (Sunday), after beating Lyon 0:1 away from home with a goal by Lionel Messi. Marseille was held to a 1:1 home draw against Rennes and so was Lance with a 0:0 in Nantes. Nice lost 1:0 to Anjou with the fastest red in the history of the league and Monaco beat Reims 0:3 away. A debut victory for Ajax.
Lyon – Paris Saint-Germain 1:0
Sixth win in a row for the champion, who in her 11 games under Christophe Galtier recorded 10 wins in all competitions and a single draw (1:1 at home against Monaco). Ashraf Hakimi returned to the lineup and Fabian Ruiz started for the first time after the assist in the 1:3 against Maccabi Haifa, but PSG did not change their method, continued with the trio of stars and got a reward in the fifth minute. Neymar prepared, Lionel Messi elegantly kicked into the net and celebrated his 672nd career goal without penalties – one more than Cristiano Ronaldo in this category. Lyon came into several situations, especially after Gianluigi Donnarumma caught air, but was unable to equalize and registered a third loss in a row which does not add to the already precarious status of Peter Bos. Sergio Ramos’ goal was disallowed in added time after he was offside while Anthony Lopes cleared a Messi free kick.
Marseille – run 1:1
Unlike the Champions League, where it lost both of its games, in the league Marseille has five consecutive victories and is breathing down the neck of the arch rival PSG, but today it was stopped by Ran. The guest is also aiming for the top after missing the ticket to the Champions League last season, but is struggling in the away games and has already gone seven straight without a win in the league. Rennes took the lead from a Matteo Ganduzi own goal in the 25th minute, but the midfielder made amends in the 52nd minute when he headed home a corner from Jordan Verto to beat Steve Mendanda, his team-mate last season who was Marseille’s record signing and left in the summer after 15 years (two terms ).
Reims – Monaco 3:0
The team from the principalities did not let the surprising home loss to Franzvarous in the Europa League hinder them in the league, where they are on a three-game winning streak. Bradley Luko was already sent off in the 22nd minute and Oscar Garcia’s team had a hard time with a numerical disadvantage, which Alexander Golovin took advantage of by hitting from close range in the 47th minute. Monaco missed until three minutes to the end, when Takumi Minamino scored a debut goal and then also had time to cook for captain Wissam Ben Yedar (90).
Nice – Anjou 1:0
Jean-Clair Todivo, the former Barcelona stopper, is considered one of Nice’s anchors, but today he entered the history books with a particularly embarrassing moment: a red card after only nine seconds. According to the referee, the failure was a prevention of a certain scoring situation and he immediately removed Todivo, despite the pleas of Dante and the other players. This set a new record in the French league, with the fastest sending off to date being 40 seconds from the start of the game (Maxim Spano from Toulouse against Lille in December 2014). The host did not last and was punished by Nabil Bentalev who found the connections in the 43rd minute. His team-mate Soufian Bhopal saw a second yellow in the 64th minute, but Andy Delor was stopped by the crossbar and Nice could not find an equaliser. Second win in a row for Angers and first in Nice since May 2017. The host with a fourth loss of the season and Lucien Fabre in trouble.
More games
Nantes – Lance 0:0
Clermont – Troyes 3:1
For Clermont: Johan Gastein (4). For Troyes: Mama Balda (23 and 54), Renault Ripar (83)
Brest – Ajax 1:0
Lajaxio: a shocked novel (65)
on Saturday:
Montpellier – Strasbourg 1:2
For Montpellier: Arnaud Norden (17), Teji Savanier (90+5 on penalty). For Strasbourg: Habib Diallo (85)
Lille – Toulouse 1:2
For Lille: Jonathan David (5), Adam Onas (53). For Toulouse: Peras Khaibi (48)
The eighth round opened on Friday with Lorraine’s surprising victory 1:3 away against Auxerre.