Mbappe scores as PSG beat Lyon
Paris, Sept. 18: Kylian Mbappe played a decisive role on his Parc des Princes debut for Paris SaintGermain in a thrilling 2-0 win over Lyon with both goals accreditated to the visitors.
Lyon’s youngsters proved more than a match for PSG’s multi-millionaires who had to wait until the last quarter of an hour before Lyon defender Marcelo deflected the ball into his own goal.
Then four minutes from time Mbappe rushed onto Brazil’s Neymar’s assist with his close range shot bounding off Jeremy Morel to settle the electric
PSG’s sixth successive league win pushed Unai Emery’s side three points clear of defending champions Monaco
encounter.
This sixth successive league win pushed Unai Emery’s side three points clear of defending champions Monaco who had maintained their title push with a 3-0 win over Strasbourg 24 hours earlier.
Lyon’s visit on paper had looked to be PSG’s toughest test of the Ligue 1 season so far, and so it proved.
Despite their 466 million euro strike force of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Mbappe seven time former champions Lyon emerged with plenty of honour, if not the three points.
PSG were restricted to just a handful of shots in the first period as Lyon’s defence doggedly refused to roll over.
PSG’s best chances came a minute from the break when on a counter attack Mbappe, appearing before his home supporters for the first time after outings at Metz and Celtic, fed Neymar with the Brazilian’s rasping shot boxed away by Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes.
On the restart Mbappe was switched to take Neymar’s place on the right.
The second half was only minutes old when Lyon striker Nabil Fekir troubled PSG keeper Alphonse Aerola with a tight- angled shot.
On 55 minutes Neymar, brought down outside the box by Fekir and then he flicked the ensuing freekick over the wall only for a diving Lopes to parry the ball away from the top far corner. Lyon launched attack after attack on Aerola in the home goal in a thrilling passage of play.