Auxerre hold Paris Saint-Germain to 0-0 draw in Ligue 1

Coming off a frustrating 1-1 home draw against Nantes FC, Luis Enrique and his squad looked to consolidate their top spot in the league with a win against Auxerre ahead of what is a must-win Champions League clash against RB Salzburg next Tuesday.

Before the game, Luis Enrique chose to give his confidence back to the same players that wwere held to a draw against Nantes last week, with the exception of Warren Zaire-Emery who replaced Joao Neves in the starting eleven.

PSG's starting line-up: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Fabian Ruiz, Warren Zaire-Emery, Vitinha; Bradley Barcola, Gonçalo Ramos, Lee Kang-In.

Auxerre's starting line-up: Leon; Jubal, Osho, Akpa; Hoever, Owusu, Danois, Mensah; Perrin, Traoré, Sinayoko.

Auxerre vs PSG: Donovan Leon denies Paris Saint-Germain

Auxerre started the game well, the promoted side enjoyed a few counterattacks opportunities to provide danger over Donnarumma's goal. Meanwhile, Paris controlled the ball as usual, using Barcola's pace to create danger behind Auxerre's defensive line.

Gonçalo Ramos came close to score his first goal of the season as his close rrange header was wonderfull saved by Leon following a good team build up on the right wing between Hakimi and Fabian Ruiz (16').

Another terrific save from Auxerre's goalkeeper, prevented Nuno Mendes from finding the back of the net after a neat combination with Barcola (33').

Just before the half-time break, Kang-In Lee came close to give Paris the lead as his long range effort fared just wide of Leon's right post (44').

Despite the 0-0 score line at half-time, both teams delivered a high pace contest with both side looking to play an attractive brand of football. It is also the first time this season that Les Rouges et Bleus failed to score in the first half of a game in Ligue 1 this season.

Both sides came back from the break with the same intensity, and soon Leon was put to the task by Gonçalo Ramos who found himself at the receivinghand of Achraf Hakimi's cross (49').

Just a few moments later, Lee's longe range shot (53') and Hakimi (57') were denied once again by Auxerre's shot stopper.

With 30 minutes left, Luis Enrique brought in two French internationals, Dembélé and Kolo Muani, hoping to bolster Paris' offence.

Once again, Paris came close to open the score through Vitinha, the Portuguese's wonderful shot was this time denied by the crossbar (69'). On the break, Hamed Traoré's was saved by Donnarumma on his near post to prevent Auxerre from the perfect hold-up (70').

Paris piled on the pressure to win the game in the closing minutes, however, the hosts stayed composed defensively relying on Leon's great performance in the goal, while remaining in a threat on the offensive hand with Traoré proving to be a constant worry for PSG's defense.

Donovan Leon definitely cemented his Man of the match performance with two decisives saves in the last minute of the game to prevent Kolo Muani (90+3) and Doué (90+4) from giving the victory to their team. It was the first time that Paris failed to score in Ligue 1 McDonald's this season.

Up next, Les Rouges et Bleus will travel to Austria on Tuesday, December 10th to face RB Salzburg in a must-win Champions League game if they hope to qualify for the next round of the competition.

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