itstargetnews
Gary O’Neill suffered his first defeat as head coach of Strasbourg as his team lost 2-1 to the champions. Paris Saint-Germain in League 1.
Sani Maiulu opened the scoring for Luis Enrique’s men before Guella Due leveled things before the break.
Strasbourg had earlier missed a penalty and thought they would be on course to take all three points when Achraf Hakimi scored with 15 minutes to play.
However, with nine minutes remaining, Nuno Mendes popped up to score the winner for the 10-man Parisians.
The result lifts the European champions over Lens and into the top spot. As for Strasburg and O’Neill, they are tied for seventh.
How the action unfolded
Strasbourg had a glorious chance to take the lead on 20 minutes when they were awarded a penalty after the ball hit Marquinhos in the area.
Striker Joaquin Panichelli took over spot-kick duties but his effort was saved by Matve Safonov.
It looked as though Enrique’s decision to leave out some key personnel for the clash at the Stade de la Mainau could prove costly.
However, with the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Desiree Duy watching from the bench, PSG opened the scoring moments later.
After predictably having much of the ball in the opening stages, the Ligue 1 champions broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute courtesy of 19-year-old Mayulu.
But the advantage would only last five minutes when O’Neill’s men leveled things after Guella Due – Dzire’s older brother – found the net from a cross from former Chelsea full-back Ben Chilwell.
After the break, Strasbourg looked brilliant before PSG finally took control of the game despite being unable to break down their opponents.
With a quarter of an hour remaining, Hakimi was given his marching orders after VAR upgraded his booking for a challenge on Panichelli.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Parisians soon regained the lead when Nuno Mendes headed home Warren Zaire-Emery’s cross.
The 10-man visitors saw out the rest of the game to climb back to the pinnacle of the French top-flight.
