At the Parc des Princes
PSG, first! Held in check by Lorient (0-0) and Toulouse (1-1) during the first two days, PSG got the better of Lens (3-1) this Saturday, at the Parc des Princes, during the third lifting of the season in Ligue 1. “It will be a Champions League match,” guessed Luis Enrique on Friday. The Spanish coach was not wrong. Already, it is factual, we will find the two clubs in the final phase of C1. But above all, the shock between the reigning French champion and his runner-up last season has kept all its promises, in a Park where Kylian Mbappé is still the prince despite the soap opera that concerned him all summer. . High level, with a dominating Paris Saint-Germain, obviously with “Lucho” on the bench, but Lensois who bravely played their luck, they who are still chasing a first victory in 2023-24. Marco Asensio and Kylian Mbappé twice for the Parisian goals, before Morgan Guilavogui reduced the score after added time.
An hour before kick-off, the capital club presented its (very) many recruits to the public, with Dembélé winning on the applause meter. Which Dembélé quickly had the opportunity to highlight his qualities of speed. Ask Medina, who had no choice but to tackle the former Barcelona player (19th). If he had the opportunity to shine, it was because Lens did not close the game like the first two opponents of PSG. For a long time, the Parisian domination was however sterile, with all the same this center of Hakimi that Vitinha was very close to taking over (7th). The Sang et Or, they were reduced to a few distant attempts (12th, 18th, 27th). Paris was going to accelerate. Literally. With this backlash led by the Dembélé / Mbappé tandem, and the latter who was upset by Samba (30th). The Lensois goalkeeper, vigilant on a direct corner from “Dembouz” (33rd), was very happy to see Danso save on his line in front of Mbappé, author of a magnificent recovery from a cross from Dembélé (32nd). Pervasive danger. Danger materialized by Asensio, holder as … center forward in the absence of Ramos (sick), with a candy from the left at the entrance to the surface (1-0, 45th).
1-0 at the break, logical. Machado finally gave some work to Donnarumma on the restart (49th), but it was above all Samba who was going to work. Hakimi did not find the target (51st) but Mbappé found the back of the net after a roundly two-sided counter with Hernandez (2-0, 52nd). The blue connection is working fine. Mbappé was close to offering himself the double and pushing the Lensoise heads a little further underwater (55th, 65th), while the neo-Lensois Wahi, who entered just before the hour mark, admired his tip speed before alerting Donnarumma (66th). The control was nevertheless Parisian. Complete control now. It must be said that the Parisians shone with their discipline, their appetite to crunch the Lensois calves as soon as the ball was lost. In this register, Ugarte is a master. What a match from the Uruguayan… The Lensois, overwhelmed, had not yet finished suffering. The 3-0 was close with Asensio (75th) and Dembélé (76th) and the Lensois multiplied the faults at the end of the match. A waste of time: the so-called Mbappé punctuated this hot summer evening with a last goal (3-0, 90th), the third for his team. Donnarumma shone against Wahi (90 2) before losing to Guilavogui (3-1, 90 5), just before the final whistle (3-1 final score).
Paris SG has therefore unlocked its counter, with the way as a bonus, before going to Lyon next Sunday (8:45 p.m.), during the fourth day. All before an international break which will also pass through the Parc des Princes for France-Ireland (September 7). For Lens, which has only one point in three days (1 draw, 2 defeats), it will not be easy with a trip to Louis II against AS Monaco which is starting its season in a very good way.