PSG 2-2 Lorient: Lorient hold Paris Saint-Germain to frustrating draw

Going into the game, most PSG fans would have expected that Luis Enrique would heavily rotate his starting XI, with the game being awkwardly sandwiched between two important Champions League semi-finals clashes vs Bayern Munich. Indeed, 20-year-old Renato Marin made his debut in between the sticks for the Parisians, with Lucas Hernandez, Senny Mayulu, Dro Fernandez, Lucas Beraldo, Ibrahim Mbaye and Kang In-Lee all also drafted into Enrique’s starting line-up.

The atmosphere at the Parc des Princes was buoyant (still fresh from the first-leg classic against Bayern Munich on Tuesday) as PSG looked to win a third successive league game, which would have seen them go nine points clear at the top of the French first division.

PSG dropped points against Lorient

It only took five minutes for PSG to break down the Lorient defence, as Desiré Doué’s delicate cross proved difficult for Lorient shot-stopper Yvon Mvogo to handle, and the ball was subsequently bundled in inadvertently by Ibrahim Mbaye, leading to the Senegalese youngster scoring his second goal of the League campaign (although he didn’t know much about it).

Everything seemed to be going to plan for the French champions until five minutes later, when a Lorient cross wasn’t dealt with by Lucas Beraldo and was then delicately turned in by Lorient playmaker Pablo Pagis. It represented a difficult start for debutant Marin, although in this case the young Italian keeper wasn’t to blame, having been left out to dry by his defenders.

Stung by this Lorient equaliser, PSG continued to press for a goal – with Bradley Barcola, in particular, looking like a threatening outlet down the left hand side. The Frenchman was only inches away, in fact, from curling a sumptuous strike into the top corner of Mvogo’s net. Desiré Doué also came close to restoring PSG’s lead, driving just wide after a remarkable slalom through Lorient’s defence.

PSG continued to knock on the door as the game approached half time, with Lucas Hernandez heading onto the top of the bar following a cross from Lee. The Korean himself tested Mvogo himself shortly afterwards, but the Lorient keeper was able to parry the powerful shot behind for a corner. Ultimately, despite this late flurry of chances, the Parisians went into the break level at 1-1, having essentially conceded the only real half chance that they faced.

Speaking at the break, Ibrahim Mbaye emphasised the importance of turning up the tempo in the second half, but it was Lorient who came out of the blocks the sharper of the two sides during the second half, as Lucas Hernandez was booked early on for halting a promising Lorient attack.

Senny Mayulu had PSG’s first sight of goal in the second period, as his volley from the edge of the box was blocked by onrushing Lorient defenders. On the hour mark, PSG made a change, with Warren Zaire-Emery sent on, as captain, in place of Fabian Ruiz – and the young Frenchman made an immediate impact, smashing home from the edge of the box only seconds after entering the fray. It was yet another confirmation of the brilliant season Zaire-Emery is having and of his importance to this PSG side.

But once again, PSG were stung in the tail after having taken the lead. A woeful backpass from young substitute Pierre Mounguengue, on for his debut, saw Lorient striker Tosin Aiyegun pounce, and the centre forward made no mistake as he bore down on goal, chopping inside Willian Pacho and then firing past young Marin. It was a distressing moment for the young PSG attacker, who very nearly made amends right away when his shot was saved by Mvogo.

Marin did manage to make one important save minutes later, as Tosin, bearing down on goal once more, was denied by the young PSG goalkeeper who made himself big. Both sides of the game at this point were sending bodies forwards, desperate to turn one point into three. In what was now a truly end to end game, Lucas Hernandez was the next man to see a chance go begging, hitting the woodwork for the second time in the match as his point blank range header came back off the post.

That didn’t mark the end of the drama, as seconds later Joao Neves’ free kick deflected to Senny Mayulu, whose shot from a tight angle came off the other Lorient post - the club from Brittany apparently being blessed by good fortune, or perhaps by innacurate Parisian finishing.

The last action of stoppage time saw even more drama: Mayulu’s cross deflected off of what seemed to be the hip of a Lorient defender: the referee initially awarded PSG a spot kick before subsequently cancelling his decision after a quick VAR review. It proved to be the last action of the game, and concluded what was overall a frustrating afternoon for the Parisians. Still, were they to win in Bavaria in midweek to qualify for a second successive Champions League final, this slip up would surely soon be forgotten.

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