Ligue 1, Scene 2: PSG lead but plot thickens

Fittingly, a rumbustious Breton derby launched the second half of the Ligue 1 season with seventh-placed Lorient entertaining fifth-placed Rennes at the Stade du Moustoir.

After their heroics at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for argentina and France, Paris Saint-Germain bosses hope that Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé can combine to lead the side to Ligue 1 and Champions League glory. © AFP - JEWEL SAMAD

Rennes went into the encounter buoyed by their 1-0 win on 15 January over pacesetters Paris Saint-Germain while Lorient were licking their wounds from a 3-1 pummelling at Marseille.

Defender Montassar Talbi opened the scoring for the hosts in the 14th minute. 

And just after the half hour mark, Theo Le Bris doubled the advantage. Flavien Tait halved the deficit 16 minutes from time but Lorient held on for the local bragging rights.

The victory brought Lorient to within two points of their neighbours in the race for a place in next season's Europa Conference League.

Rennes' demise offered Marseille and Monaco the chance to gain some distance.

But the sides – third and fourth respectively – fluffed the occasion with a 1-1 draw at the Vélodrome.

Alexis Sanchez levelled for Marseille early in the second-half after Jordan Veretout's own-goal had given the visitors the lead.

Victory would have taken Monaco to within two points of Marseille who went into the game at the top of the form charts.

Igor Tudor's men had won their last five games to close to within five points of PSG and two behind second-placed Lens.

The result gave Marseille 43 points from their 20 games and Monaco remained fourth with 38 points.

Tudor railed at the officials for failing to use the video assistant referee (VAR) to check Guilermo Maripan's challenge on Marseille's Sead Kolasinac in the penalty area towards the end of the match.

"Since VAR was introduced for games, it's the biggest mistake that I've seen. I really can't believe what happened."

Slip

Lens botched their chance to go level on points with PSG on Saturday afternoon. A goal from Adrien Thomasson in the closing stages at Troyes cancelled out Yasser Larouci's opener for Troyes just after the pause.

Though Lens monopolised possession, Troyes displayed the grit that new coach Patrick Kisnorbo says his players will need to stave off relegation and ultimately flourish as a solid Ligue 1 outfit.

The 41-year-old Australian has overseen a win, two draws and a defeat since leaving his post as head coach at Melbourne FC in Australia to take over from Bruno Irles.

𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑲𝒊𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒐 est le nouvel entraîneur de l’ESTAC ! ✍️
Le technicien australien s'engage au club jusqu’en juin 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣.
Welcome coach !
Le communiqué 👉 https://t.co/uIrENP4L3i#TeamEstac 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/MvfE01zErS

— ESTAC Troyes (@estac_officiel) November 23, 2022

"Four years ago, Melbourne FC was a bit like Troyes ... new coach ... different ways wanted," said Kisnorbo.

"But we started to work and four yeas on, Melbourne had won two league titles and an Asian Cup."

The Troyes faithful will simply be joyous for Ligue 1 status. The stalemate at the Stade de l'Aube took them to 19 points from 20 games and kept them among the candidates for one of the four relegation places.

Troyes grit

Lens have Champions League nights in their sights. "There is a bit of disappointment because we deserved to win," Thomasson told Prime Video. 

"It was one-way traffic. They defended deep and when they scored, it simply reinforced their game plan even more."

There were laments too from the Troyes camp. "Of course we're disappointed because we conceded five minutes from the end," said goalkeeper Gauthier Gallon.

"And we had two good chances to make it 2-0 as well. But I liked the solidarity of the team. It is by fighting for each other that we will succeed. We defended well, we stayed strong and I am proud of the guys.

"It's a good point against a very good team that caused us lots of trouble."

Challenge

Lionel Messi has a storied career creating problems for adversaries. He ran riot and amassed trophies at Barcelona for the best part of two decades before moving to PSG in August 2021 to join Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.

The tricky troika have been brought together to fire PSG's quest for Champions League glory.

Ligue 1 supremacy – long regarded by the team's Qatari owners as bunting for the ultimate bauble – might be a tad more difficult to secure than in previous seasons.

Especially when the reinforcements are getting restless.

Goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who has been designated understudy to Gigi Donnarumma for Ligue 1 and Champions League clashes, is understood to be weighing up a move to Nottingham Forest in England's Premier League.

The Costa Rica international won 10 titles at Real Madrid including three consecutive Champions League medals between 2016 and 2018. Seven more trophies have been added since his move to PSG in 2019.

"Keylor has been exemplary in his work since the start of the season," said PSG coach Christophe Galtier.

"He will be the goalkeeper for the Coupe de France games and I have total confidence in him.

"But we have to take into consideration what he feels. The things he has done as a player mean we have to give him that respect," Galtier added. "I know that the club hierarchy feels the same way."

The 36-year-old's departure could leave PSG compromised in the event of an injury to Donnarumma or the Italy international yielding to an extended bout of flakiness.

PSG will play seven matches in February, including last-16 ties against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

They will also go up against Marseille in the last-16 of the Coupe de France on 8 February as well as a Ligue 1 clash on 26 February.

There is also a game at Monaco.

“The calendar is like that, unfortunately," Galtier added. “With the accumulation of matches, we'll need to be careful with how many minutes we give to the players."

Victory over 11th-placed Reims at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night would have extended their lead at the top to five points.

But after an insipid first-half, PSG took the lead through Neymar. And seemed to have ridden out the dismissal of Marco Verratti early in the second half.

But Falorin Balogun levelled in second-half stoppage time for Reims.

It was a well-deserved point for Will Still's side.

And, more importantly, it maintained the intrigue.