Paris returned to Ligue 1 action with a dramatic 2-1 home win over Racing Strasbourg. Kylian Mbappe won and scored a penalty in added time to mask what was a sluggish performance. PSG coach Christophe Galtier tried to blood young talents alongside his best players. The experiment may has been less than a complete success, but the Parisians still got away with the points.Neymar and Kylian Mbappe started the game and were back at their usual self – it’s as if the World Cup never happened.But rather than one of the forwards – Neymar, Mbappe or young Hugo Ekitike, it was Marquinhos who opened the scoring. The PSG captain flicked a header from a Neymar’s cross and beat goalkeeper Mats Sels with less than a quarter-hour on the clock.The visitors weren’t harmless despite being second-best. Veteran striker Kevin Gameiro, who used to play for PSG a decade ago, combined well with Ludovic Ajorque and ended up with a glorious chance to level, but Gianluigi Donnarumma did well to get down and block the shot.🚨🚨Neymar Jr has LEFT the Parc des Princes after getting send off. 🇧🇷🟥 [@OLIVETALLARON] pic.twitter.com/4g7gRSbdN8— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) December 28, 2022 Ekitike struggled to make an impact and lost the possession far too many times.Marquinhos had already made the difference in the opposing box, but sadly, he’s done the same in front of his goal too. Just five minutes after the restart, Adrien Thomasson escaped down the right after winning the ball off Marco Verratti. His cross failed to reach any of his teammates, but the Brazilian defender diverted it past Donnarumma and into the net.Mbappe’s Penalty GOAL 🇫🇷⚽️pic.twitter.com/UQ5nZqLU7z— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) December 28, 2022 Neymar showed once again that despite all his ability, his personality lets him down on the pitch and preventing him from reaching true greatness. He was sent off after receiving two yellow cards for a slap of an opponent and diving in the opposing box. He left his teammates to search for a winner with ten men, but their efforts were ultimately rewarded with points.Mbappe was fouled in the box and he scored the resulting penalty to hand his team the win. It was deserved but highly unimpressive.LIGUE 1 – ROUND 16WednesdayAjaccio – Angers 1-0 (1-0)/Belaili 40/Troyes – Nantes 0-0Auxerre – Monaco 2-3 (1-1)/Niang 30 pen, Fofana 68 og – Ben Yedder 45+2 pen, Ben Seghir 58, 85/Clermont – Lille 0-2 (0-0)/Gomes 68 pen, Bayo 90+4/Brest – Lyon 2-4 (1-3)/Lage 29, Mounie 72 – Caqueret 21, Cherki 32, Lacazette 35, Tete 49/PSG – Strasbourg 2-1 (1-0)/Marquinhos 14, Mbappe 90+5 – Marquinhos 51 og/Thursday19:00: (2.05) Lorient (3.45) Montpellier (3.60)21:00: (3.45) Reims (3.40) Rennes (2.25)23:00: (3.10) Nice (3.20) Lens (2.55)23:00: (1.55) Olympique Marseille (4.10) Toulouse (6.00)***odds are subject to change***
