The pointer Paris Saint Germain achieved an agonizing triumph for the date 16 of the Ligue 1 for 2-1 over Strasbourg Racing, who only won one game and is in the relegation zone, in the return of French football after the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Kylian Mbappe scored in an unusual finish to give the locals the victory, who suffered the expulsion of Neymar.
With almost all of his figures available except Lionel Messi, In the cold and at times rainy night, the Parisians faced a game cut short by repeated infractions by their adversary. Despite this, it took only 14 minutes for the locals to take the lead, with a header from Marquinhos in a one hundred percent Brazilian connection: the central defender filtered through those who defended and scored after an impeccable cross from Neymar, on a free kick taken from the left.
Marquinhos’ goal for PSG (1-0)
Ten minutes later, Mbappé had his first chance to score after taking advantage of a falling defender falling back, but the Belgian keeper Matz Sels He stood in front of the shot and deflected it. Shortly after he made another attempt from outside the box at number 7 with another solid response from the opposing goalkeeper. And then, the one who saved his team was Gianluigi Donnarumma, who covered a very clear situation for Kevin Gameiro with his legs and was also left with the next rebound off another opponent, steps from the goal.
In the second half, the surprise came with another goal from Marquinhos, although this time against, when the captain deflected with his foot a cross from Adrien Thomasson from the left that slipped into the far post of Donnarumma. It was 1-1. Six minutes went by and the chain of failures had begun with an error by Marco Verratti, who controlled the ball poorly.
Marquinhos’ goal, against (1-1)
Immediately, a great collective move, with a cue from Hugo Ekitike included, left Mbappé face to face with the goalkeeper, but it took him a fraction of a second to define as he left the ball behind and Sels’ quick bailing allowed him to deflect the shot when Kylian already seemed to run out to shout it.
Another shock for PSG came in a handful of minutes with the expulsion of Neymar, for a double reprimand. First, annoyingly, he slapped a rival who was marking him and immediately, he simulated a violation inside the area. The referee did not hesitate and sent him off for the attempt to deceive him.
The expulsion of Neymar
The Parisians were entrusted to their youngest star. At 21, Mbappé repeated a cross attempt, similar to the one in the first half, and Sels guessed again the intention to control the shot without problems. Later, he searched for some patrias on the left with an inconclusive outcome.
Without too much surprise in their movements, the local continued looking with few ideas against an opponent contained in their field despite having a numerical advantage. The end was getting closer. Around the hour, the World Cup gunner left the goalkeeper lying on the ground with a feint and wanted to assist Soler, but he was imprecise and the defense managed to clear the danger.
The end was unusual: the judge annulled a goal by Marquinhos, who had come from behind to push the ball, to sanction a penalty for PSG for a previous and controversial foul on Mbappé. The Brazilian captain couldn’t believe it. But victory was twelve steps away…
The disallowed goal for Marquinhos and the penalty for Mbappé
Infallible from eleven meters, the striker himself scored so that the agonizing celebration left the situation an anecdote almost in the last play of the game. It was 2-1. And there was no time for anything else. For this reason, the triumph was shouted and celebrated so much, with the shirt thrown into the air in its festive race.
Mbappé’s goal, from a penalty (2-1)
At PSG, the only undefeated player in the competition, Messi’s return will take place after the end of the year holidays. According to the team’s manager, Christophe Galtier, The man from Rosario agreed that he will travel to France between January 2 and 3 to join training and, thus, rejoin his club with two weeks off after the final. His return to the field of play could take place on the 11th of next month, when the leader receives Angers for the 18th round of the championship. During the end of the first half of that game, when his team was winning 1-0, Leo published a photo in which he made it clear that he was following the meeting from his home in Rosario.
Before the start there was a minute’s silence in tribute to referee Johan Hamel, who died last November 15, at the age of 42, after suffering a stroke during training. The refereeing body was moved, while the image of the former colleague appeared on the screen of the Parque de los Príncipes stadium and everyone ended up applauding, including the footballers.
The summary of PSG-Racing Strasbourg
