A week after their 3-0 victory over Lille at the Parc des Princes, and a few days after their defeat in Lisbon, Paris Saint-Germain travelled to Auxerre, bottom of Ligue 1, with the aim of regaining at least temporary top spot in the league, ahead of leaders Lens' trip to Marseille on Saturday.
With a string of matches coming up and several players unavailable, Luis Enrique opted for a resolutely attacking 4-2-3-1 formation, with Chevalier in goal, Zabarnyi and Beraldo in central defence flanked by Lucas Hernandez and Zaïre-Emery, who was playing his 100th Ligue 1 match for PSG. Vitinha, captain on this Friday evening, and Mayulu started in midfield, behind Kvara, Barcola and Mbaye, supporting Ramos up front.
Les Rouge et Bleu gave the crowd their first thrill of the game early on, after a pinpoint pass from Vitinha from his own half to Barcola, who eventually found Léon in his path (1'). It was an early chance that didn't pay off, but it immediately showed the Parisians' desire to push forward against a deep-lying defence (something we're used to seeing). But Auxerre know how to play on the counter-attack, and Sinayoko tried to catch the Parisian central defence off guard from a loose ball, with Warren managing to clear the danger (5').
Luis Enrique's men dominated possession and laid siege to the opposition's box, but as we mentioned earlier, the Burgundy side's transitions can be deadly, and Sy managed to send in a powerful cross across the face of goal. The ball flew just past Namaso, who narrowly missed connecting with it from close range (24'). Ramos, meanwhile, managed to connect with a ball from close range moments later, following a corner from Kvara. The Portuguese striker rose high to meet the ball with a powerful header, but Léon made a miraculous save (30').
The Auxerre goalkeeper pulled off another spectacular save a few minutes later, denying Vitinha's powerful free kick. In the chaos that followed, Leon blocked a first attempt, then a second in front of Mbaye, who pounced on the loose ball (36'). The intensity stepped up a notch, and our Parisians continued to dominate the game against a team fighting for survival in the top flight.
The players from the capital club came back in the second half with the same determination, and although Barcola (49') and then Kvara (53') threatened the Auxerre defence, they were unable to find a way through. The danger continued to mount, however, when Dembélé, who had come on a little earlier, put Barcola through into the box, chipping the ball beautifully over Léon, who was delighted to see it sail just over his crossbar (63').
The eventual breakthrough did come from Bradley, who finally managed to catch Léon off guard, racing alone towards goal on a lightning-fast counterattack and catching Auxerre off guard. Barcola found himself one-on-one with the opposition goalkeeper and once again opting for the chip, though this time finding the back of the net (0-1, 79'). It was a well deserved goal for Paris and for Barcola, who put his team on the right track in a match that was looking like it could be a tricky one.
Although the hosts tried hard to pose a threat until the very end, Paris Saint-Germain remained solid and held on to their lead until the final whistle. It was a precious victory that saw them move to the top of the table ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures. With Ligue 1 becoming increasingly exciting, the title race is far from over!
