Luis Enrique’s plan went wonderfully. Four days before the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League against Real Sociedad, the Paris Saint-Germain coach managed to combine business with pleasure by beating Lille (3-1), Saturday February 10 evening, while preserving his squad from injuries.
For this meeting of the 21st day of Ligue 1, and last rehearsal before Europe, the Parisian bench looked better than the team lined up, with Kylian Mbappé, Marquinhos, Hakimi, Donnarumma, Zaire-Emery and Barcola replacing. “We have to play every three days so we have to plan with the staff all the options available to us. You should not underestimate a match. We are a group, with two players per position to be competitive in all competitions,” Luis Enrique explained at a press conference on Friday.
And the team aligned by the Spaniard showed desire, aggressive without the ball by putting in place constant and profitable pressure. However, the Parisians, with a special jersey printing for the Chinese New Year, got off to a bad start by conceding a goal in the 6th minute: Brazilian rookie Lucas Beraldo, already struggling against Zhegrova, was easily eliminated by Tiago Santos, author of a superb technical gesture, then Fabian Ruiz restarted badly, which benefited Yusuf Yazici (1-0).
But the suffocation tactic put in place by Enrique quickly bore fruit, like Ousmane Dembélé’s ball recovery just in front of the Northerners’ surface, who then served Gonçalo Ramos, alone in front of the empty goal. (10th, 1-1).
Mbappé remains on the bench
After the young Portuguese player’s fourth goal of the season for one of his rare starts, the Parisians showed few doubts. And they easily went ahead in the score. At fault on the Lille goal, midfielder Fabian Ruiz was at the origin of the second Parisian goal after an innocuous strike but deflected by Lille defender Alexsandro, who deceived Lucas Chevalier (2-1, 17th).
In the second half, Bradley Barcola, who entered the game, struck perfectly, giving a decisive pass to Randal Kolo Muani (3-1, 80th), enough to offer some clarity to the attacker who is having a complicated first few months in the capital despite six goals.
Kylian Mbappé, who remained on the bench the entire match after being hit in the ankle on Wednesday against Brest, was preserved. An ultimately anecdotal absence in view of the evening match. Like the Parisian striker – top scorer in the championship – goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma did not play on Saturday, allowing Keylor Navas to make his first appearance in Ligue 1 since May 2022.
Anne Hidalgo targeted by insults and banners
This sixteenth consecutive match without defeat (all competitions combined) allows PSG to jump to the top of the standings with eleven points ahead of Nice, which faces Monaco on Sunday. In good form at home, Lille (4th), which has only won two away matches this season, however continues its poor operations away from its stronghold.
Before the match, homophobic chants descended from the Lille parking lot and the Auteuil stand, forcing the stadium announcer to speak. Another announcement was made during the match, after the Parisian ultras repeatedly insulted the mayor of Paris Annie Hidalgo, in conflict with the club over the Parc des Princes.
“Without PSG, the Park no longer has princes”, “Hidalgo kills Paris and its magic”, was written on banners. On Thursday, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said he wanted to leave the stadium in the face of Paris town hall’s refusal to sell him the venue.