Young Stars Step Up in PSG Victory Over Lyon

On Monday of this week, Paris Saint-Germain faced Olympique Lyonnais (2-0) in Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes, a match that ended in a win.

PSG is in a somewhat turbulent moment. Last Tuesday, the Parisian club faced FC Barcelona (4-2); although they won, they also lost three key players: Ousmane Dembele, Marquinhos, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Because of the injuries, coach Luis Enrique adjusted his starting eleven. Achraf Hakimi stepped in as captain after Marquinhos' injury; Maghnes Akliouche replaced Kvaratskhelia, and Ferran Torres replaced Dembele.

The first half settled into a calm pace; PSG was the team that kept possession of the ball most of the time, although the fans got a little desperate because of how slowly the match seemed to move forward.

Although the Parisians tried several times to reach the goal, the ball simply did not seem to want to go into the net; in fact, the only relevant thing that happened in the first half was the first yellow card of the match, which was given to Vitinha.

In the second half, Maghnes Akliouche earned a yellow card in the 51st minute while PSG continued to keep possession of the ball, but Lyon recovered minutes later, stealing the spotlight from the Parisians.

Luis Enrique decided to make changes around the 60th minute, bringing on Mika Godts for Joao Neves, Lucas Hernandez for Warren Zaire-Emery, and Senny Mayulu for Ferran.

This decision was perfect, because in the 72nd minute Mayulu shone with an incredible goal assisted by Godts, which turned the match around, reviving the Parisian club's energy.

From here, it was only an upward climb for PSG. After a yellow card for Khalis Merah of the opposing team and several changes made by Paulo Fonseca and Luis Enrique, Godts surprised by scoring the second goal of the match, assisted by Q. Ndjantou in the 84th minute.

At the end, almost to finish the match, Lyon made its last change of players and applied pressure on the Parisians, but could achieve little before the referee signaled the end of the match.

Thanks to this win, PSG is positioned in first place in the Ligue 1 standings with 17 points. For now, the team will prepare for its next Ligue 1 commitment on Oct. 30 against Le Havre and later face Villarreal CF on Nov. 3 in a Champions League match.