Paris Saint-Germain almost suffered the effects of a European hangover as they needed a 91st-minute strike from Kylian Mbappe to lead them to a 2-1 win over Brest on Saturday.
Christophe Galtier’s side were well below par and saw Carlos Soler’s opener canceled out by Franck Honorat before half-time, and they did very hard work in the second half before Mbappe showed up to save the day.
Mbappe saw an early shot that was blocked, before Soler hit a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area that went over the post by Brest goalkeeper Marco Bizot.
As might be expected, the visitors quickly showed their dominance and began to dominate the proceedings, although Brest defended resolutely and even inflicted some defeats on the counter, reminding PSG that there would be no transgression here.
Jean-Kevin Duverne got a brief glimpse of goal from a corner kick but his powerful cross was sent straight into the arms of Gianluigi Donnarumma, before the Brest left-back saw a penalty waved controversially.
Paris Saint-Germain calmed nerves shortly before half-time. Mbappe’s shot from long range was uncomfortably saved by Bizot, but the rebound fell straight at Soler’s feet and the Spaniard sent the ball into the net from the underside of the crossbar.
However, the two sides went into the break and tied as Honorat crashed against the counter. The winger played over the top and stopped two defenders before smashing into the top corner to earn a well-deserved equaliser.
Brest were lively again at the start of the second half, although they got away with some sloppy defending as they left Lionel Messi open, but the Argentine was unable to keep his effort in goal.
Mbappe then found an inch of space in the penalty area, but as Pezot advanced, the Frenchman cut his effort high and wide.
There was some dramatic action late on when Mbappe blatantly kicked the Balekla keeper – not dangerous but certainly offbeat – but the VAR somehow wasn’t interested and allowed the referee to rule out a yellow card.
Just moments later, Mbappe put the dagger into the hearts of Brest. With 91 minutes on the clock, Messi’s long ball managed to find the Frenchman, who edged past Pezot and tapped into an empty net to snatch the three points.
A goal keeper: Marco Bizot (6); RB: Noah Fadiga (7); CB: Ashraf Dary (6); CB: Lillian Brassier (6); pound: Jean-Kevin Duverne (7); DM: Pierre Les Millau (7); RM: Frank Honorat (7); poison: Hugo Magneti (6); poison: a guard with a kiss (7); LM: Roman del Castillo (7); street: Steve Mooney (6)
Alternatives: Jeremy Le Doran (5), Felix Lemarechal (6), Christophe Herel (5)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma – 5/10 – Another match without a clean sheet for Donnarumma. It’s time to start asking questions.
Right-back: Timothee Pembele – 4/10 – Play too advanced for someone with his limited speed. Honorat could not be tackled for a draw and was on target throughout the game.
Center back: Danilo Pereira – 6/10 – Quite comfortable but didn’t get much help getting around it.
Center back: Sergio Ramos – 5/10 – His limited athletic ability was evident here. Honorat can’t keep up.
Left-back: Nuno Mendes – 7/10 – After a difficult first half, Mendes turned the show around after the break. He was possibly the most dangerous attacker and Galtier responded by pushing him forward more late on.
CM: Marco Verratti – 5/10 – The Brest midfield could not keep up at all. She seemed a bit isolated at times.
CM: Warren Zaire-Emery – 6/10 – His energy sets him apart from the rest of the PSG midfielders, although the youngster didn’t offer much.
CM: Fabian Ruiz – 4/10 – Another poor showing for Fabian. He doesn’t seem to mesh with this team at all.
AM: Carlos Soler – 7/10 – Excellence in the Paris Saint-Germain midfield. It pulsates with real energy and deserves its goal.
Striker: Lionel Messi – 8/10 – Lots of dangerous moments and an assist for the winner Mbappe.
Striker: Kylian Mbappe – 6/10 – He somehow avoided a red card for an obvious kick on his hat late on, and then made the difference with a well-rounded finish.
alternatives
Vitinha (75 minutes for Fabian) – 5/10
Juan Bernat (75 minutes with Pembele) – 6/10
Hugo Ekitike (80 minutes for Soler) – 5/10
Renato Sanchez (89 min for Emery Zaire) – N/A
boss
Christophe Galtier – 4/10 – Zooming in from the light camera operator appears to show a notebook with quite a few tactical notes. Regardless of whether or not this screenshot is fair, it definitely seemed to be telling the truth. He escapes further criticism due to the impact of the current injury crisis.
