PSG brushes off Lille to make it 10 wins in a row
Source: http://richportaltv.com
With a 4-1 victory over Lille on Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain solidified its commanding lead in the French league and warmed up for Liverpool.
Prior to Liverpool’s Champions League visit, PSG coach Luis Enrique rested the Georgia star, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia watched the goals from the substitutes’ bench. On Wednesday, Paris will host the Premier League leader for the opening leg of their matchup in the round of 16.
Lille, which had been fourth ahead of the 24th round, had pushed for Saturday’s game to be postponed because of its own Champions League match at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
PSG showed no sympathy.
Bradley Barcola opened the scoring in the sixth minute on a rebound after Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier saved Ousmane Dembelé’s initial effort.
Chevalier went on to make a string of saves as PSG made a furious start, but he couldn’t stop Marquinhos from heading into the home team’s second in the 22nd.
Six minutes later, Dembelé scored his 18th goal of the season after being released free on the right, and in the 37th minute, Desiré Doué, then 19 years old, made it 4-0 with a spectacular strike to the upper left corner.
Lille did not have a single attempt on goal during halftime. In response, head coach Bruno Génésio made two substitutions at halftime: 18-year-old midfielder Ethan Mbappé, Kylian Mbappé’s younger brother, and Icelandic midfielder Hakon Haraldsson.
They didn’t stop the PSG fans singing in the stands, but Chevalier had less work to do than before.
Enrique made four changes at once for the last half hour, with Achraf Hakimi and Dembelé among those going off for a rest, while Kvaratskhelia and Warren Zaire-Emery came on, the latter continuing his comeback from a left ankle injury.
Canada forward Jonathan David, also a substitute, scored Lille’s consolation in the 80th on a rebound after Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Mbappé’s shot.
PSG moved 16 points clear of Marseille with its 10th straight win across all competitions. Marseille hosts Nantes on Sunday.
Relegation-threatened Le Havre defeated Saint-Etienne 4-3 at Lens earlier Saturday thanks to a penalty kick from Egyptian forward Kouka in stoppage time, while Nice maintained their third-place finish with a 3-1 victory at Saint-Etienne. Le Havre had never taken the lead in the game before.