Neymar wakes up at the foot of the Auvergne volcanoes. After his two goals against Lorient (5-1), he did even better on Saturday April 9 (6and71and sp, 83and), taking his tally to 10 league goals. He doubled his score in six days, throughout a season still plagued by injuries and doubts. As for Mbappé, after his double at the Parc the previous day, he also scored a hat-trick (15and74and80and), and alone takes the lead in the scoring charts with 20 goals, overtaking Wissam Ben Yedder (18 goals).
After this 31and day of the championship, we can say that PSG has overcome its post-elimination slump in the Champions League against Real Madrid. This new walk does not erase the European failure but it brings Paris closer to the title, with fifteen lengths ahead of Olympique de Marseille, which receives Montpellier on Sunday, and Rennes, winner in Reims (3-2).
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Paris too strong for Clermont
With Sergio Ramos incumbent, for his seventh game of the season only, PSG did not really shake against Clermont. Too unbalanced on Saturday evening, the Auvergne team only keeps a length on the barrage, Saint-Étienne, but sabotaged its goal average, a bit like the Greens the day before in Lorient (6-2).
The only downside, PSG still found a way to revive its opponent: on its first dangerous action, Clermont reduced the mark by Jodel Dossou (42and). At the start of the action, Sergio Ramos was erased by Jason Berthomier’s small pass for Saïf-Eddine Khaoui, the center for Dossou. A minute earlier, the Spaniard had dismissed Khaoui with a manly tackle, two minutes later he committed a foul on an offensive header, while he had climbed into the box. But Clermont only hoped at the end of the first period. Paris was too strong.
A 100% MNM goal
The Auvergnats protested against the opener, they had a man down, Alidu Seidu, lying in the box when Neymar scored. Kylian Mbappé had lightly hit the defender’s foot earlier. Johan Gastien’s partners would have preferred the Parisians to take the ball out. They hoped that the VAR would find Mbappé’s contact at fault, but no.
The second goal owes a lot to Lionel Messi: his cushioned sequence from the chest passes in a bell to lob Saïf-Eddine Khaoui ideally shifted Mbappé towards the goal. As the “Pulga” had been launched by Neymar, here is a 100% “MNM” goal (Mbappe, Neymar, Messi). After this disaster start, Clermont Foot finally closed the doors of its defense. But for lack of precision in the last pass, the players of Pascal Gastien, suspended, did not manage to threaten Gianluigi Donnarumma. Until Dossou’s goal.
After the break, the Neymar-Mbappé duo hurt the Clermontois too much, who let go mentally at 3-1. “Ney” answered on the field. He was taken aback by the public of Gabriel Montpied, suspected of having rolled on the ground on an action, but there was indeed a sole of Yohann Magnin on him (49and). Whistled on each ball, annoyed, the Brazilian was warned for a foul on Akim Zedadka (53and). Then he spoke with his feet, converting the penalty for a foul by Zedadka on Mbappé and scoring the last on a cross from his accomplice. Mbappé also added two goals in a fragile defense. PSG are doing better, but it’s too late for Europe.
Reindeer feverish but victorious
Rennes almost stumbled once again against their pet peeve, Stade de Reims, which they had not beaten since 2016. On Saturday April 9, the Rennais however chained a seventh meeting without defeat in the league thanks to their victory , 3-2, at the Auguste-Delaune stadium, on behalf of the 31and day of Ligue 1. The Bretons have thus become the new provisional dolphins of PSG, while waiting to know the result of Marseille (3and) against Montpellier on Sunday.
They were however far from their usual standards on the Reims lawn, showing great excitement at the start of the match but especially in the last quarter of an hour, against an enterprising Stade de Reims. They were at the mercy of an equalizer until the final minutes when they were leading 3-0. Maxime Busi first reduced the gap with a header (3-1, 60and), deceiving the Rennes goalkeeper, Dogan Alemdar, in a mouse hole. Then Jens-Lys Cadjus converted a penalty (3-2, 81and), just three minutes after the one missed by his teammate Moussa Doumbia (78and).
Fortunately for them, Bruno Génésio’s players had largely taken shelter before and after the break, with two goals from Benjamin Bourigeaud (second best passer in Ligue 1 with 11 assists). He first opened the scoring with a header on the reception of a cross from Gaëtan Laborde (1-0, 40and) before doubling the lead with a shot in the area, deflected by Reims defender Wout Faes (2-0, 43and). On returning from the locker room, Martin Terrier had tripled the stake for Stade Rennes with a curling shot from the right foot (3-0, 58and).
Marseille will have to react tomorrow, against Montpellier, to regain second place in the standings.
