Round 6 saw perfect PSG hold on to top spot with a dramatic late 2-1 win over Lyon as Lionel Messi made his home debut for the capital club, and Nice's iron-clad defence was finally breached - twice - in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Monaco. OM climbed to second...
Icardi grabs late winner
Mauro Icardi scored in stoppage time as Paris Saint-Germain beat Lyon 2-1 at the Parc des Princes in Lionel Messi's first home game for the Parisians.
Lyon took the lead when Lucas Paqueta's strike beat PSG 'keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at the near post (54').
PSG needed some Brazilian magic of their own to get back on level terms and Neymar duly obliged, firstly winning a penalty and then coolly converting it (66’).
Just as it looked as though both teams would share the spoils, Kylian Mbappé's pinpoint cross found substitute Icardi who headed past Lyon 'keeper Anthony Lopes to maintain PSG's 100% start to the season.
"It was a difficult game," said PSG forward Neymar, who produced his best performance of the season so far. "We knew we were facing a great team. It’s always hard to chase the game when you’re behind but my teammates deserve congratulations for the sacrifices they made. I’m happy with a win at a packed Parc des Princes in front of our supporters."
Dieng strikes again
Goals from Bamba Dieng and a first for the club for Amine Harit gave Marseille a deserved 2-0 win over Rennes at the Orange Vélodrome to preserve their unbeaten start to the season.
Dieng bagged his third goal in two games and put OM ahead with a near-post finish (48') before Amine Harit added a second (71') to lift Jorge Sampaoli's side into second place on the table, five points behind PSG with a game in hand.
"It's a real pleasure to score in a stadium like this," said livewire Harit. "It was important to score the second goal to kill the match, this gave us breathing space for the last 15 minutes. We have a lot of quality players who can make the difference in the opposition half, it allows us to put pressure on our opponents and create as many chances as possible.This is what we have been doing for several weeks."
Lens take derby spoils
Lens ended their derby du Nord hoodoo edging out neighbours LOSC 1-0 at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Summer signing Przemysław Frankowski struck the only goal of the game (74’) to claim Lens’ first derby win for 15 years. The win ensured Lens moved up to third place whilst reigning champions LOSC continued their difficult start to the season with just one win in their opening six games.
"It’s a fantastic result for us," said Lens coach Franck Haise after leading his team to a six-game unbeaten start to the season. "I saw people from my staff cry. We all do this job to live these moments. To beat the champions, we needed to show maturity in our game and I think we did that."
Points shared at Nice
Nice and Monaco drew 2-2 in an entertaining Côte d’Azur derby at the Allianz Riviera.
Aleksandr Golovin became the first player to score against Nice this season when he struck Monaco's first, from close range (37’).
The home side rallied and completed a superb second-half comeback, with Andy Delort scoring his first goal for the club (52’) before Hicham Boudaoui netted to complete the turnaround. Wissam Ben Yedder equalised from the penalty spot (77') before Amine Gouiri squandered a chance to win it for Nice from the penalty spot, shooting high and wide.
"It feels like two points lost for us but Monaco could have punished us too," said an honest but disappointed Nice coach Christophe Galtier. "It came down to very little. We need to be a little smarter when we are leading the match. We need to have more control. This result will be a lesson for us."
Easy pickings for Strasbourg
Habib Diallo netted twice against his former club as Strasbourg thrashed Metz 3-0 at the Stade de la Meinau.
Ludovic Ajorque’s penalty (6’) put the Alsatians ahead before Diallo’s double (26’ and 40’) condemned Metz to their third defeat of the season - whilst Strasbourg move into 12th place on the table.
Relief for Petkovic
Vladimir Petkovic registered his first win as Bordeaux coach - at the sixth time of asking - after his side’s 2-1 victory at Saint-Etienne.
South Korea international Hwang Ui-jo was the hero as he notched a goal in each half (7’ and 80’) to breathe life into Bordeaux’s difficult start to the season. Wahbi Khazri netted for Les Verts (73’), who are still without a win this season and remain in 19th place on the table.
Derby delight for Nantes
For the second successive season Nantes left the Stade Raymond Kopa with maximum points and Derby de l’Ouest bragging rights after trouncing Angers 4-1.
Nantes were 2-0 up inside six minutes thanks to goals from Andrei Girotto and Ludovic Blas. Ismael Traoré pulled one back for Angers (10') but Randal Kolo Muani (23') and Blas, with his second of the game (80'), inflicted Angers' first defeat of the season as Nantes moved up to tenth on the table.
Troyes denied late on
Troyes were denied late on by ten-man Montpellier after a 1-1 draw at the Stade de l'Aube.
Yoann Touzghar opened the scoring, finishing superbly from eight yards (37'), only to see his strike cancelled out in the dying moments by Montpellier captain Téji Savanier (87'). Matheus Thuler was sent off for Montpellier for a second bookable offence with ten minutes left to play.
Draws at Clermont and Reims
Clermont salvaged a point against Brest in a 1-1 draw at the Stade Gabriel Montpied.
An enthralling 15-minute period shortly after half-time saw Clermont reduced to ten men when Johan Gastien was shown a straight red card (50). Brendan Chardonnet then put Brest ahead (52') before the in-form Elbasan Rashani levelled up for the hosts.
Reims and Lorient played out only the second goalless draw of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats season so far at the Stade Auguste Delaune.
