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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) secured a comfortable 4-1 win over Lyon in Ligue 1 on Sunday, September 3.
Lyon made a poor start to their campaign, losing two and drawing one of their three games so far. Their last game was a goalless draw against Nice away from home. Knowing this was bound to be a tougher test, manager Laurent Blanc fielded a strong lineup.
The Parisians, on the other hand, secured two draws and a win from their opening three games. Their last outing was a comfortable 3-1 win over last season's runners-up RC Lens. Manager Luis Enrique named a full-strength lineup for this contest.
PSG made an electrifying start to the game and found themselves 1-0 ahead after just four minutes. Corentin Tolisso fouled Manuel Ugarte in the box and a spot-kick was awarded, which Kylian Mbappe converted with east. Lyon fell further behind after 20 minutes as Achraf Hakimi showed great determination to get to the ball and score.
The visitors continued their onslaught and grabbed their third goal following a brilliant team move. Marco Asensio applied the finishing touches following a sharp assist by Ugarte. Mbappe then made it a brace on the stroke of half-time as PSG led Lyon 4-0 at the break.
The second half saw PSG play a safe approach and sit back in their own half, more than content to knock the ball around to run down the clock. They ended up conceding in an unfortunate fashion, as Warren Zaire-Emery fouled Nicolas Tagliafico inside the box, resulting in a penalty. Tolisso stepped up and converted to make it 4-1.
Both managers made several changes to their teams as the game progressed but neither side were able to alter the scoreboard. The game ended in a massive 4-1 win for PSG over Lyon.
On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5. PSG were two to the good midway through the first period
Lyon made a nightmare start to the game in which they could ill afford even a single error. Tolisso was the culprit as he fouled Manuel Ugarte inside the box and the referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Mbappe stepped up and converted with ease to make it 1-0 after just four minutes.
PSG continued to pile the pressure on their hosts as they dominated possession and created chance after chance. Their cause was also helped by the fact that Lyon made several errors with the ball. Hakimi scored their second goal 20 minutes into the game as the visitors were looking more than comfortable.
#4. The Parisians waited for the right moments to pounce on Lyon
Knowing that keeping the ball for lenghty spells would make it easier for them to control the game, the Parisians dominated possession in the first half. However, they dropped back at times and allowed Lyon to come onto them in hopes of forcing a mistake in the form of a misplaced pass. This created the openings for their chances.
With 39% possession of the ball in the first period, Lyon attempted 11 shots but just three of those were on target. With limited time on the ball, they were prone to mistakes as they did not play with a flow. PSG did well to pick their moments and pounce on these errors to score.
#3. Four star performance from PSG in the first half
Having taken a two-goal lead midway through the first period, the Parisians were locked in and created several chances with their style of play. They sat back with their three defenders and waited for Lyon to break shape to press.
As soon as the hosts pushed forward, PSG broke them down with a quick relay of five or six passes through their lines before breaking into their 18-yard box.
Marco Asensio finished off a lovely move following a pass from Manuel Ugarte after the entire team contributed to a sleek move. The visitors then capitalized on another error from the hosts in midfield and Mbappe was through on goal to make it 4-1.
#2. Tolisso somewhat redeemed himself with second-half penalty
Lyon looked hapless in the first half but tried to salvage something from the game in the second period. Full-back Nicolas Tagliafico ventured into the box and was brought down by Warren Zaire-Emery and the referee awarded a penalty.
Corentin Tolisso, who gave a penalty away himself in the first period, stepped up to take the spot-kick and converted it to make it 4-1.
#1. The Parisians were content to knock the ball around to end the game
Having already done the majority of their work in the first half with their four goals, PSG were content to knock the ball around in their own half as they kept 77% possession in the second period.
This included 472 completed passes and 12 attempts on goal, with just three of those on target. Luis Enrique made several changes as well, making it easier for the playing XI to transition into the new approach to the game.
They saw out the remainder of the time to secure a big 4-1 win.
