Lucky 13 as PSG move well clear at top of French league

Yahoo

24-02-2025

Paris Saint-Germain have no serious rivals in France this season and will soon find out if their crushing domestic dominance can translate into the team thriving on European soccer's biggest stage.
Still unbeaten in the French league after 23 matches, PSG extended their massive lead at the top of the standings to 13 points on Sunday (Monday AEDT) with a 3-2 win at sixth-placed Lyon.
PSG were the better side and led 2-0 with seven minutes left to play. The only downside for Luis Enrique's team was the players' inability to keep their lead intact when Lyon really upped the tempo.
Inspired by the in-form Ousmane Dembele - who scored his 17th league goal at Lyon - PSG have made tremendous progress in recent weeks.
Achraf Hakimi scored PSG's other goals.
PSG remains atop of Ligue 1 📊 pic.twitter.com/3gk2bBDfEA
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) February 23, 2025
There appears little doubt PSG will win a record-extending 13th league title this season. But a far tougher test looms in March against Premier League leaders Liverpool when the two teams face off in a mouth-watering last-16 Champions League tie. The first leg is in Paris on March 5.
It's the next big hurdle on the road that separates PSG from their ultimate goal of winning the Champions League, a task that has proved too difficult so far despite the millions injected by Qatari investors since 2011.
The only French club to win the Champions League, second-placed Marseille, made headlines for the wrong reason this weekend, losing 3-0 at Auxerre.
In Lyon on Sunday, Hakimi put PSG ahead in the 53rd minute from Bradley Barcola's cross, and Dembele doubled the lead six minutes later with a superb strike in the opposite corner.
Ryan Cherki ensured some suspense when he pulled one back at the end of a fine team move with seven minutes left to play.
Hakimi completed his brace soon after to restore PSG's two-goal lead.
Meanwhile, struggling Nantes moved five points clear off the relegation playoff spot with a 3-1 win against Lens.
A week after getting hammered 7-1 at Monaco, Nantes bounced back to secure only their fifth win in 23 league games this season.
French teenager Louis Leroux celebrated his first Ligue 1 start by opening the scoring in the 36th minute with a powerful shot. Moses Simon then made it 2-0 with a penalty kick on the hour-mark following a handball.
Neil El Aynaoui pulled one back from the spot five minutes later, but Lens never looked capable of scrambling a comeback, especially after Mbala Nzola was sent off.
Meschack Elia Lina secured a Nantes victory in stoppage time from former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin's assist.
Lens slumped to a third straight loss and remained in eighth place.
In other action, Toulouse winger Zakaria Aboukhlal scored a stunning scissor-kick goal in a 4-1 win at Le Havre.
Zakaria Aboukhlal's bicycle kick. Enjoy. 🚨🚲🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/QOGkWpAkgj
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) February 23, 2025
The 25-year-old Dutch player put Toulouse in front with his left foot when he connected with a lofted ball from Shavy Babicka in the Le Havre area.
With his back to the goal, close to the penalty spot, Aboukhlal rose and unleashed an acrobatic shot that hit the right post and went into the back of the net. It was Aboukhlal's seventh league goal this season.
Le Havre remained in the relegation zone, two points above last-placed Montpellier, with Toulouse 10th.
Jonathan Claus and Hicham Boudaoui both scored as Nice moved back to third place with a 2-0 win over Montpellier, and Strasbourg and Brest drew 0-0.