With a 2-0 victory over Angers SCO, who haven’t defeated Paris Saint-Germain since1972, the Ligue-1 Leaders increased their lead over the competition at the top of the table....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
There was little chance that Paris Saint-Germain would lose a second straight league game thanks to the return of World Cup winner Lionel Messi against a team that was in the middle of an unwelcome club record-setting eight-game losing streak in the French top division.
Any doubts about Angers winning were all but dispelled within five minutes of the game after the Parc des Princes crowd paid tribute to the late, great Pele.
Hugo Ekitike swept Nordi Mukiele’s cross past Paul Bernardoni and into the corner. Sergio Ramos came close to doubling his team’s lead, but the Angers shot-stopper made a spectacular save to prevent it.
The Parisians were unable to disappear from view despite the disparity in class between the two teams, whilst their opponents when they did hold the ball appeared to have plenty of room. After the break, the hosts kept up the pressure, but Les Noirs et Blancs suddenly appeared to be a greater threat.
Abdallah Sima had Angers’ finest opportunity to equalize after Bernardoni stopped Ekitike with a superb save to his right, but he could only blast over the bar despite having time and space inside the penalty box.
A VAR intervention was required to determine Messi was not in an offside position, but that error proved to be costly as he just after the 70-minute mark, stroked home another Mukiele pass to virtually seal the victory.
RC Lens, who on January 1 handed PSG their first loss of the year, could only manage a 2-2 draw at RC Strasbourg, allowing Christophe Galtier’s team to increase their lead at the top of the standings. Meanwhile, Angers has only earned eight points so far this season and appears relegated to the second division.
