PSG crush Lyon to stand on brink of Ligue 1 title

All the goals came in the first half at the Parc des Princes, with a Nemanja Matic own goal and a Lucas Beraldo effort having PSG two ahead inside six minutes. Goncalo Ramos then scored twice either side of an Ernest Nuamah strike as the Parisians cruised to victory despite the rested Kylian Mbappe spending the whole evening on the bench.

PSG, who have not lost a Ligue 1 game since September, are now 11 points clear of Monaco in second with just five matches of the campaign remaining. It means that they will secure a 10th French title in 12 seasons if they win at Lorient in a rearranged game on Wednesday and Monaco fail to beat Lille at the same time.

Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were both rested by PSG coach Luis Enrique as he made five changes to the side that started in last Tuesday's 4-1 win away to Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. Lyon have enjoyed a remarkable revival in the last few months under new coach Pierre Sage and are still hoping to qualify for Europe after sitting bottom of the table at the end of November.

However, they were blown away as Matic diverted Marco Asensio's cutback into his own net inside three minutes and Brazilian defender Beraldo converted at a corner three minutes later. Ramos headed in Achraf Hakimi's cross to make it 3-0 just after the half-hour mark, although Ghanian starlet Nuamah came in from the right flank to pull one back for Lyon soon after.

Ramos restored PSG's three-goal cushion by finishing off a fine move just before the break for his 13th of the season in all competitions. That rounded off the scoring, and whatever happens in midweek PSG will hope to be confirmed as title winners before they travel to face Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on May 1.

Lyon are a point away from seventh position, which will be enough to qualify for Europe if they fail to beat PSG when the teams meet again in the French Cup final at the end of May.

 

April 21, 2024