Paris Saint-Germain head to the Groupama Stadium to face Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday knowing a win will see them move nine points clear of one of their biggest rivals going into the September international break.
Olympique Lyonnais – Paris Saint-Germain Sunday at 20:45 CET (1845 GMT)
>> LIVE SCORING, STATS AND COMMENTARY
PSG have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season, winning six and drawing one of their first seven Ligue 1 Uber Eats matches and claiming six points out of a possible six in their UEFA Champions League group. That form saw them finish last weekend on top of the table, ahead of Olympique de Marseille thanks to a far superior goal difference, and they are level on points with Benfica in Champions League Group H ahead of a double-header against the Portuguese side next month.
However, the first cracks have started to emerge for coach Christophe Galtier over the last week, with PSG producing their least convincing performance of the fledgling campaign in beating Stade Brestois 29 at the Parc des Princes last weekend. They needed a Gianluigi Donnarumma penalty save in the second half to ensure a 1-0 win, while Presnel Kimpembe came off with a hamstring injury late on that will see him miss up to six weeks. That is a huge problem for Galtier given his lack of central defensive options and his decision to set his side up with a back three.
Paris followed that by coming from behind to win 3-1 away to Maccabi Haifa in Israel on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr all scoring. Yet they needed their superstar front three to cover up another display that fell short of the very high expectations placed in Galtier’s side.
Highlights: PSG edge out Brest
“It is nothing to do with tiredness, it is just that teams work on ways to play against us, just as we do with them,” Galtier said in Israel. “We need to work on our set-up so we don’t get caught out at the back like we did against Brest and like we did here.”
'Artist' Neymar
The quality of PSG’s attack continues to make the difference, and in particular Neymar, who has now scored 11 goals in 10 games this season in all competitions. The Brazilian is in line to make his 100th Ligue 1 appearance this weekend.
“He knows that he didn’t perform as well as he can last season, that he was often not there,” Galtier said this week. “He has big objectives. He came in very fit, having done a lot of work beforehand. Ney is a creator, a passer, a finisher, an artist and he works so hard for the team both in terms of our attacking play and the desire to win the ball back.”
It does not bode well for a Lyon defence that has looked fragile in recent games, with Peter Bosz’s side suffering back-to-back defeats after starting the campaign with four wins and a draw. OL lost 3-1 away to FC Lorient before a 2-1 reverse away to AS Monaco last weekend, both games in which the coach’s decision to persist with Thiago Mendes – a holding midfielder by trade – in central defence has been called into question.
Bosz under pressure?
Lyon stuck with Bosz despite finishing eighth last season, but now they know a defeat at home to PSG will leave them nine points adrift of the leaders just eight games into the season. That would raise doubts as to whether the former Ajax coach would still be in the job following the international break.
“We hear the criticism, and we can understand it, but our approach is to the medium and long term,” sporting director Vincent Ponsot told Le Progrès. “Despite how things went last season, we analysed things and decided to keep Peter, and we were convinced of our decision. However, there are now demands on Peter to get results, because we have changed the squad and the mindset, lots of things have been done with his agreement. We think we have everything in place to do well.”
Highlights: Lyon beaten in Monaco
Ponsot added: “But we don’t function by saying that if something happens on Sunday…No. We didn’t wait for the Monaco match to set objetives for Peter. Getting back onto the podium is also his own objective. The difference compared to last season is that we are not going to assess that objective at the end of the season. We expect results more quickly.”
Lyon are looking to avoid a third straight league defeat, which would constitute their worst run in Ligue 1 since February 2018. Their visitors, meanwhile, are unbeaten in 16 league games. They were waiting on the fitness of Renato Sanches and Keylor Navas after both players missed the trip to Israel.
Probable teams
Lyon: Lopes; Gusto, Mendes, Lukeba, Tagliafico; Tolisso, Lepenant, Caqueret; Tetê, Lacazette, Toko Ekambi
PSG: Donnarumma; Ramos, Marquinhos, Danilo; Hakimi, Vitinha, Verratti, Bernat; Messi; Mbappé, Neymar
