Messi strikes preserve PSG prime in Ligue 1

Lionel Messi struck after 5 minutes as Paris Saint-Germain edged Lyon 1-0 to regain prime spot within the Ligue 1 desk forward of Marseille on Sunday.

Neymar arrange the Argentinian together with his seventh help in eight Ligue 1 video games.

The victory pulled PSG two factors away from Marseille who had taken prime spot earlier with a 1-1 draw at residence in opposition to Rennes.

Lorient, 3-1 winners over Auxerre, are three factors adrift of the leaders.

Lens dropped to fourth after being held to a goalless attract Nantes.

PSG have been imperious within the first half however didn’t end off their opponent who awakened after the break with Johann Lepenant approaching rather than a drained Corentin Tolisso.

However Christophe Galtier’s aspect held on to inflict Lyon’s third defeat of the season.

Galtier’s “MNM” assault is firing on all cylinders, with eight targets in Ligue 1 for Neymar, seven for Kylian Mbappe and 4 for Messi.

Earlier, Marseille midfielder Matteo Guendouzi scored each targets in a 1-1 draw at residence in opposition to Rennes.

Guendouzi bundled previous residence keeper Pau Lopez to provide Rennes the benefit after 26 minutes however the former Arsenal participant redeemed himself with a header previous ex-Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda seven minutes after the break.

Mandanda returned to a heat welcome for his first match again on the Velodrome the place the previous Marseille skipper spent 15 years earlier than leaving for Brittany in the summertime.

“He was excellent, very calm, whereas it was very troublesome for him emotionally,” mentioned Rennes coach Bruno Genesio of Mandanda who holds the report for the variety of video games performed for Marseille with 613.

Good fell 1-0 at residence in opposition to Angers in a match by which defender Jean-Clair Todibo earned a purple card after 5 seconds and each groups completed with 10 males.

Todibo was despatched off after simply 9 seconds, and that features the 4 seconds it took referee Bastien Dechepy to drag the cardboard out of his pocket.

Sofiane Boufal kicked off for Angers and handed to Adrien Hunou. He discovered striker Abdallah Sima surging ahead. Sima pushed the ball previous Todibo who caught out a leg and tripped the striker.

After a video overview, the choice that Todibo was the final defender stood.

Despite the fact that Boufal was later despatched off, Angers gained 1-0 with Nabil Bentaleb scoring simply earlier than the break.

“I don’t assume it was a purple card,” mentioned Good coach Lucien Favre saying Dante and Jordan Lotomba have been masking. “It was not a scoring alternative.

“We’d have gained this sport if we had performed with eleven gamers.”

– ‘Killed the sport’ –

There was additionally purple card controversy in Reims who fell 3-0 to Monaco with defender Bradley Locko despatched off after 22 minutes for leaving a boot in on Breel Embolo.

“The referee killed the sport,” lamented Reims coach Oscar Garcia, and “it’s not the primary time”.

Membership president Jean-Pierre Caillot has been additionally suspended till December 31 for criticising the refereeing in a draw in opposition to Lyon final month.

In a punishing sport in Brittany, Ajaccio acquired their first win of the season 1-0 at Brest in a match the place two gamers have been stretched off.

Seconds after kick-off, Ajaccio goalkeeper Benjamin Leroy caught a team-mate’s knee head-on as he tried to catch a ball.

“There was a lack of consciousness, he was hit within the neck,” mentioned Corsican coach Olivier Pantaloni.

An aerial duel additionally floored Noah Fadiga after half an hour, leaving the defender surprised in a head-to-head conflict with Ismael Diallo.

The 22-year-old Brest participant additionally left the pitch on a stretcher, giving the thumbs as much as attempt to reassure the followers.

Ajaccio acquired their first success of the season due to Romain Hamouma’s Sixty fifth-minute objective, to depart the Corsicans just one level behind Brest and Strasbourg.

Elsewhere Troyes gained 3-1 at Clermont to maneuver as much as tenth after two defeats in a row.

Clermont captain Johan Gastien scored after simply three minutes however the guests hit again with a Mama Balde double rounded off with a late objective from Renaud Ripart.

AFP