A controlled outing despite the good face displayed by the visitors. Paris-Saint-Germain actually hosted AS Saint-Étienne this Sunday evening as part of the closing match of the 17th day of Ligue 1. A meeting which saw the championship leader win by a score of two goals to one, thanks to a double from Ousmane Dembélé. Zuriko Davitashvili reduced the gap on the hour mark with a very nice free kick. PSG ends its first leg undefeated and regains a seven-point lead over OM. ASSE remains sixteenth and barrage.
Dembélé sees double at the break
AS Saint-Étienne will present itself with big ideas. From the first seconds of play, Zuriko Davitashvili wreaks havoc in the Parisian defense before striking. Gianluigi Donnarumma wins and deflects the ball for a corner. A few seconds later, Lucas Stassin enters the penalty area but is finally caught by Nuno Mendes. Davitashvili appears but is countered at the last minute by Lucas Hernandez. Paris-Saint-Germain will begin to enter, little by little, into their match. Senny Mayulu will appear twice in front of Gauthier Larsonneur, without however managing to open the scoring. In the thirteenth minute of play, the capital club will find the net. Ousmane Dembélé enters the area, falls back on his left foot before crossing his attempt. It's in the back of the net!
Luis Enrique's men are now unleashed, pushed by the Parc des Princes, and are trying to make the break. Kang-In Lee will try his luck from afar. It's deflected just above his crossbar by Larsonneur. A few moments later, Achraf Hakimi will cross and be blocked by the hand of Léo Pétrot. Ousmane Dembélé takes care of it and scores a double. Despite everything, the Forez club will continue to rush towards the attack. In the 35th minute of play, Bradley Barcola appeared in front of the last Saint-Etienne rampart but stumbled upon it. A few moments later, the French international recovered the ball from Benjamin Bouchouari's feet and won his duel with Gauthier Larsonneur. The third Parisian goal will however be canceled by the VAR, due to an offensive foul by the Parisian. The score will not change until we return to the locker room.
A sublime goal from Davitashvili insufficient
The meeting will restart with the same standards as those seen during the first 45 minutes. Upon returning from the locker room, Bradley Barcola will enter the penalty area but will come up against an excellent Gauthier Larsonneur, who allows his team to stay alive. A few moments later, the former Lyonnais found himself, alone, at the penalty spot and followed up with a half-volley which flew above the cages. AS Saint-Étienne fails to appear as dangerous as in the first period. Shortly after the hour mark, however, the visitors were awarded a very dangerous free kick at the edge of the area. Zuriko Davitashvili takes care of it and sends a heavy shot which ends up in the back of the net. Everything is restarted!
The Forez club will then start to believe it again. The Greens will, more and more, project themselves towards the last meters of their opponents. Luis Enrique will then decide to rotate in order to give playing time to different players. In the 82nd minute of play, Désiré Doué moved back into the middle and took his chance from outside the penalty area. It was repelled by the Saint-Etienne rearguard. Five minutes from added time, Ousmane Dembélé will think about scoring a hat-trick, before being caught at the last moment by the Saint-Etienne defense. In the 90th minute of play, Dembouz was once again found in the opponent's area but missed his move, sending his shot into the Parisian sky. The score will no longer change despite Saint-Etienne's intentions.
To summarize
A controlled outing despite the good face displayed by the visitors. Paris-Saint-Germain actually hosted AS Saint-Étienne this Sunday evening as part of the closing match of the 17th day of Ligue 1. A meeting which saw the championship leader win by a score of two goals to one.
