A few days after a victory in Barcelona that resonated throughout Europe, Paris Saint-Germain returned to Ligue 1 action with a difficult away match against LOSC. Still without several key players, Luis Enrique fielded a young side and made several changes ahead of the second international break of the season.
Warren, on the right of the defence, wore the captain's armband, with Hernandez on the left flanking the Beraldo-Pacho centre-back pairing. Lee, Mayulu and Ndjantou (making his first professional start) formed the midfield behind Barcola, Mbaye and Ramos, the heroes of Montjuic.
The attacking line quickly made its presence felt, with several well-timed bursts from Mbaye and Barcola. The latter forced Ngoy into a crucial tackle in front of his goalkeeper to prevent the Parisian number 29 from finding a teammate in space (13'). The Parisians kept possession of the ball and, while remaining cautious of Lille's counter-attacks, were the more dangerous side. Mbaye broke through the middle of the pitch to cause chaos, Mayulu picked up the ball and found Ramos in the heart of the box. However, the Portuguese striker saw Ngoy, once again, intervene (20').
On the other side of the pitch, our Parisians were solid. Hernandez, for example, intervened without hesitation in front of Meunier to block the Belgian, who was rushing towards a loose ball in the box (23'). It was important to stay ready defensively, even if Paris were the more inspired side in attack in this first half.
Hernandez-Meunier, take two! The Parisian defender was again called into action when he threw himself at the ball struck by Meunier, who had followed up on a lightning-fast Lille counterattack. Everything was still to play for and the tension rose a notch (32'). Just before half-time, the tension reached its peak when Lille won a dangerous but poorly taken free kick, which led to a Parisian counter-attack. Barcola took the ball and raced towards goal behind the defence, but completely exhausted, he was unable to set himself and shot wide (43').
After returning from the changing rooms, Paris were quick out the blocks, but neither Lee, Barcola nor Hernandez could find a way through. Paris clearly had control of the ball, while the Dogues were pushed back (52'). The danger continued to loom over Özer's goal, forcing the Turkish keeper to pull off a great save from Bradley, who curled in a fine shot but was denied (56').
It was looking like some individual quality was needed, which came courtesy of Nuno Mendes. Having come on a few moments earlier, he stepped up to take a free kick from 25 metres out and found the top corner of the Lille goalkeeper's net. This added another string to Nuno's bow, as he continues to amaze observers and supporters alike. With the goal, Paris took control of the match and the standings (0-1, 66'). The home side had their backs against the wall and were forced to react.
Several changes later on both sides, with fifteen minutes to go, the pace picked up. Fernandez Pardo tried to break away on the left and shot across goal, with Chevalier accompanying the ball out of play (76'). Space was opening up, and Luis Enrique's men tried to take advantage, with Lee attempting a powerful shot that Özer deflected with his fingertips (81'). Then, against the run of play, Lille managed to equalise, with a curling shot on the ground that Paris couldn't keep out (1-1, 85').
The pace was frantic in the last half hour, but the score remained unchanged. The Parisians take a point in Lille and move into sole possession of first place in Ligue 1, with the October international break looming. Next up is a match at home in the league against Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes.
