PSG 3-0 Montpellier: Reigning Champions Return to the Top of the Table.
The earliest match of Matchday 11 in Ligue 1 between PSG and Montpellier ended with a convincing 3-0 victory for the home team. South Korean forward Lee Kang-in scored his first goal for the capital club, helping them temporarily claim the top spot in the league table.
Matchday 11 in Ligue 1 kicked off on Friday night at the Parc des Princes. PSG hosted Montpellier in a match that could potentially see the Parisian team temporarily claim the top spot. To achieve this, coach Luis Enrique reinstated his trust in the 4-2-4 formation, which has had both successful and unsuccessful outcomes in the past. On the other hand, Montpellier’s coach Michel Der Zakarian maintained the same lineup that secured a 3-0 victory over Toulouse in the previous week.
Despite the incident involving defender Mamadou Sakho’s request to leave the team after a collision with the head coach, which may have slightly affected Montpellier’s balance in terms of form, the reality was that the away team had a better start. Teji Savanier had a chance to open the scoring in the 2nd minute but was unsuccessful. This proved costly for Zakarian’s team.
In the 10th minute, after a beautiful assist from Achraf Hakimi that Kylian Mbappe missed, forward Lee Kang-In successfully capitalized on the opportunity and unleashed a shot that goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte couldn’t save. The first goal by the South Korean striker for PSG left the visitors stunneԀ, and if it weren’t for Lecomte’s excellent performance, they would have conceded at least one more goal in the first half, as he made a brilliant save to deny Ousmane Dembele’s shot in the 26th minute.
In the second half, PSG continued to dominate the game, maintaining a ball possession rate of over 60%. In the 58th minute, talented youngster Warren Zaire-Emery provided a favorable pass to Dembele on the right side of Montpellier’s penalty area, and the former Barcelona player returned the ball to the 17-year-old, who timed his shot perfectly to beаt Lacomte.
PSG’s right flank had an outstanding performance, as Hakimi completed his second assist of the game in the 66th minute. The Moroccan player delivered a pinpoint pass to Vitinha, who came on as a substitute for Lee Kang-In in the 62nd minute, and the shot couldn’t be stopped, sealing PSG’s 7th victory in Ligue 1 this season.
On a day when forward Mbappe was quiet, PSG’s collective strength was maximized. The resounding 3-0 win propelled them to the top of the league table for the first time this season, accumulating 24 points from 11 matches, temporarily leading Nice by 2 points but having played one more game.
Lineups:
PSG: Donnarumma; Hakimi (Soler 78′), Marquinhos (Hernandez 71′), Skriniar, Mukiele; Zaire-Emery (Ruiz 78′), Ugarte; Lee Kang-In (Vitinha 62′), Dembele, Mbappe, Kolo Muani (Ramos 62′)
Montpellier: Lecomte; Sylla (Sainte-Luce 21′), Kiki, Esteve, Sacko; Ferri (Leroy 70′), Chotard; Fayad (Khazri 70′), Savanier, Al-Taamari (Yeboah 83′); Akor Adams (Delaye 83′)