Even Kylian Mbappe couldn’t save Paris Saint-Germain from a tedious performance as the defending champion drew with Toulouse 1-1 in the French league on Saturday. (More Football News)
Mbappe started on the bench and replaced Lee Kang-in in the 51st minute in the hope of breaking the deadlock. The France striker gave PSG the lead with a penalty in the 62nd after Rasmus Nicolaisen fouled him.
PSG had the opportunity to add a second goal in the 77th when Vitinha was played in, but the Portuguese midfielder missed the target with his lob.
Toulouse punished PSG for that miss. Morocco winger Zakaria Aboukhlal equalized from the penalty spot in the 87th after Achraf Hakimi tripped him.
PSG enjoyed a lot of the sterile possession that characterized part of Luis Enrique’s tenure as Spain coach.
“We had a good rhythm in the first 60 minutes,” Luis Enrique said. “The opponent barely came close to our goal. After the goal, we entered a phase a bit more crazy with a lack of control. I know many people don’t like possession, but I love that. We must have even more possession, we must create even more chances, and above all we must prevent the opponent from creating them.”
Mbappe was ostracized by PSG this summer because of a contract standoff. But the club’s hard stance didn’t last long. Mbappe was allowed to train with the first team just a day after PSG started its campaign by drawing with Lorient 0-0 last weekend.
New signing Ousmane Dembele made his PSG debut by replacing Fabian Ruiz in the 51st. The former Barcelona winger created that big chance for Vitinha in the 77th.
Meanwhile, Lyon has two losses and no points to start the league after falling to Montpellier 4-1.
Lyon striker Lacazette was so overwhelmed with frustration that he was sent off in the 80th for a bad foul on Teji Savanier.
Montpellier earned its first win after drawing with Le Havre 2-2 on the opening weekend.
Winger Arnaud Nordin capitalized on a blunder from Remy Riou to open the scoring in the 20th. Mousa Al-Tamari doubled the lead on a counterattack in the 39th. The Jordan winger started a run from his own half and dribbled past Duje Caleta-Car before beating Riou with a low strike.
Al-Tamari, who joined Montpellier from Belgian club Leuven this summer on a free transfer, made it 3-0 by chasing a long kick from goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte to slip the ball under Riou in the 66th.
Lacazette cut the deficit in the 69th then Nigerian striker Akor Adams, who scored twice against Le Havre, sealed the win on a fast break in the 89th.
The lack of quality in Lyon was glaring as the host struggled to create chances and was let down by poor defending.
“It’s probably a problem of confidence, and it’s probably a problem of level, too,” Lyon coach Laurent Blanc said. “There are some players who haven’t reached the top level yet. That’s OK when they are surrounded by top players, but it gets complicated when they are on their own.”
Lyon desperately needs reinforcements to contend for European spots, but severe financial contraints imposed by the league’s financial watchdog have hampered the club’s recruitment efforts this summer.
The Lyon-Montpellier match was put back by two hours because of a regional heatwave.
