Unconvincing Parisians saved by their substitute defender Kehrer

Has anyone seen Kylian Mbappe? Guys, where is Kylian? Where is this player who made Real Madrid go to war against the rich and powerful money men from the Middle East? Although he was on the pitch during Paris’ 1-1 draw at Olympique Lyon – he was almost invisible.Lyon against PSG – it’s one of the biggest fixtures in French football and on Sunday night – we’ve seen why. Despite the game being played at almost empty Groupama Arena in Lyon, you could feel the immense energy invested into this clash of two fiercely-supported clubs.Lyon, a sleeping giant, showed signs of waking up. Their classy Brazilian playmaker Lucas Paqueta opened the scoring early on with a pinpoint shot across Keylor Navas that ended up neatly in the corner. Another night of chasing shadows was in store for the French capital club.As it’s happened a few times already this season, some late drama saw Paris evade a defeat with a late strike. This time it was German right-back Thilo Kehrer who saved the Saints.For most of the match, Paris were trying to equalize with most of the burden resting firmly on the shoulders of Mbappe. With Neymar and Lionel Messi absent, the speedy forward was expected to create something. Gini Wijnaldum, Marco Veratti and Ander Herrera exchanged passes endlessly with the end product proving elusive until the final stages.With attackers out of sorts, it was the unlikely foot of substitute defender Kehrer who saved his team from defeat. The German volleyed low just a few minutes after coming on to replace Colin Dagba and he expertly beat Anthony Lopes to make it 1-1.Suddenly, it was the visiting team who had the momentum and looked more likely to win. At that point, Lyon forwards Moussa Dembele and Houssem Aouar were rueing a counter-attack they failed to turn into a goal some ten minutes previously.And then popped up that lad Mbappe to show that he hadn’t gone missing after all. Nuno Mendes was fouled just outside the Lyon area on the left-hand side and the Real Madrid’s target curled a wicked free kick that looked destined for Lopes’ far corner. But the ball cracked off the post and ended up behind, with PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino holding his head in hands on the touchline.One win in their last seven Ligue 1 matches leaves Lyon in real danger of their first bottom half finish since 1995/96. PSG’s missed opportunities mean they have now dropped points from four of their last five in the league, but an 11-point cushion at the Ligue 1 summit will not have Pochettino fearing for his job – at least not yet.LIGUE 1 – Round 20FridayGirondins de Bordeaux – Olympique de Marseille 0-1 (0-1)/Under 37/SaturdayLOSC Lille – Lorient (postponed)Lens – Rennes 1-0 (0-0)/Said 89/SundayMontpellier – Troyes (postponed)Brest – Nice 0-3 (0-1)/Dolberg 13, Delort 79, Gouiri 90+3/Clermont – Reims 0-0Metz – Strasbourg 0-2 (0-0)/Ajorque 50, Aholou 90+1/Nantes – Monaco 0-0Oympique Lyonnais – Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 (1-0)/Paqueta 8 – Kehrer 76/

Powered by Live Score & Live Score App