Kylian Mbappé scored Paris Saint-Germain’s 100th Ligue 1 Conforama goal of the year and brought up the half-century for the 2018/19 campaign as the reigning champions pulled further clear of the chasing pack in Week 19.
PSG have scored 20 more goals than the next most prolific side in the top flight this season, and the difference in class is also reflected in the 13-point lead Thomas Tuchel’s men now have over second-placed LOSC Lille following the captial club’s 1-0 win over FC Nantes at the Parc des Princes courtesy of Mbappé’s second-half strike.
“I think it was a good match despite everything. We created a lot of chances that we didn’t manage to put away. If we had scored earlier, the game would surely have been different,” explained captain Thiago Silva after helping his team get back on track after successive draws in their last two league outings.
“Nantes sat deep and played on the counter-attack. Defensively, we were solid. We have worked very well in this first half of the season. Everyone should be congratulated for the work they have done so far. We have to keep going like that as that will enable us to go far.”
PSG also have Max-Alain Gradel to thank for giving them an even plumper cushion to sit on over the festive season as the Toulouse captain scored twice from the penalty spot to give his team only their second win in 14 outings.
While it allowed PSG to pull away, it also gave the chance for Olympique Lyonnais in third and fourth-placed Montpellier Hérault SC to move closer — they did, but Ruben Aguilar’s late equaliser for the latter ensured Nabil Fekir’s goal for OL was only worth a point when the pair met in Montpellier.
“We were already on holiday in the first half,” Lyon boss Bruno Genesio grumbled before looking on the bright side. “We have taken a point off Lille, who were playing at home. We got a draw at Montpellier, which is a good performance. We can have some regrets, because if we had played the first half as we did the second, we would have won it.”
Marseille slump continues
Their arch-rivals AS Saint-Etienne in fifth did win — beating Dijon FCO 3-0 with Wahbi Khazri among the scorers — to move level on 30 points with Montpellier, and give themselves some breathing space over Olympique de Marseille below them.
Rudi Garcia’s men needed a late Bouna Sarr equaliser at Angers SCO to avoid a fourth successive defeat in all competitions and what would have been a fifth loss in a winless run of six competitive outings that has seen the early season optimism at OM fade away.
“It was good to see OM react like that in the second half and finally put in what was needed on the pitch in every area: defence, aggression, cohesion and some good play,” said Garcia. “That’s what we have to build on. We know we’re short of confidence right now.”
Marseille’s patch of poor form has seen the rest of the table squeeze up behind them. But for Sarr’s goal, RC Strasbourg-Alsace would have been in sixth place as Thierry Laurey’s side ended OGC Nice’s seven-game unbeaten run with a 2-0 victory in their first home game since the deadly terror attack in the city earlier this month.
Patrick Vieira’s Nice, who have now failed to score from open play in their last four league games and who saw Wylan Cyprien’s penalty saved by Matz Sels early in the second half, are just four points off fourth, but find themselves in tenth place at the halfway point of the season.
Strasbourg moved ahead of them on goal difference, as did Stade Rennais FC, who made it four wins from four under new coach Julien Stéphan with an emphatic 4-0 defeat of Nîmes Olympique, while Stade de Reims eased into ninth thanks to their 2-2 home draw with SM Caen.
Vieira can take some consolation from the fact his former Arsenal and France teammate Thierry Henry will have a far less comfortable winter break. At home to En Avant Guingamp — the only team below his AS Monaco team in the table — Henry watched his side go down 2-0 with Marcus Thuram, son of another former international teammate Lilian, one of the visitors’ goalscorers.
Usually, all ten games are played simultaneously before the Christmas, but Bordeaux’s encounter with Amiens SC was switched to Sunday due to the gilet jaunes (yellow vests) protests that continue to rock France. The encounter was worth the wait.
Bordeaux looked to be on course for all three points thanks to Samuel Kalu’s opener, but Eddy Gnahoré equalized late on. Les Girondins nonetheless conclude the year unbeaten in ten.
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