Score inside to forget the sadness outside: PSG beats Angers after defeat in the Champions League

Another week, another day in which PSG had to internally forget what was happening in the Champions League. The French lost to Atl. Madrid on Wednesday and has only won one European match, They also lost to Arsenal and drew with PSV. Result? They are currently outside the access area to the knockoutinstead of elimination, a scenario that is obviously far from the club’s ambitions.

Behind closed doors, however, the context was more favorable. PSG visited Angers this Saturday after Monaco beat Strasbourg and I knew that a victory would allow me to remain at the top of Ligue 1 by the same six points. and, meanwhile, Marseille had lost at home to Auxerre, which could open the door to nine points between the two great rivals.

The humble team only needed two opportunities: Atl. Madrid wins in injury time and puts PSG in the danger zone

“It was difficult to talk about Wednesday’s game in the heat of the moment, because emotions tend to absorb us. We cannot deny that we have a block when it comes to finishing and we have to be able to overcome it, with confidence and a collective mentality. On a personal level I feel very good and I am optimistic. We are in a medium-long term project, where we know that we will have ups and downs. We don’t lack players. We have to accept this very delicate situation in the Champions League and come out of there with our qualities,” explained Luis Enrique in the preview of this Saturday’s match.

Now, in this context, the Spanish coach seemed to manage the squad and He left Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, João Neves and Dembélé on the bench, betting on Lucas Beraldo on the left wing of the defense, Mayulu in the midfield and Marco Asensio and Kang-in Lee in attack. On the other hand, in an Angers team that is on the verge of the relegation zone, Alexandre Dujeux had Ibrahima Niane as his main offensive reference.

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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) November 9, 2024

PSG dominated the match from the opening whistle and opened the scoring in the first 20 minutes. with Kang-in Lee shooting into the area for the first time after a cross from Zaire-Emery from the left (17′) — in a play that still caused some controversy, since an Angers player intercepted the ball on the line and the referee did not immediately award the goal. Lee scored two goals three minutes later, in a play similar to the first goal, but with Asensio watching (20′).

The expected third goal arrived at half an hour, Bradley Barcola also increased the lead with an assist from Asensio (31′), And Angers still reacted, getting dangerously close to Donnarumma’s goal on several occasions. In added time, however, the Parisians achieved the victory with the second goal from Barcola, who headed into the area after a cross from Lee (45+2′).

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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) November 9, 2024

Luis Enrique made changes at half-time and continued with his apparent management, replacing Barcola and Hakimi with Doué and Zague, and the match was interrupted for several minutes at the beginning of the second half due to a protest from the Angers fans, who launched dozens of tennis balls to the Donnarumma area. The logic, however, remained: PSG dominated with the ball and calmly managed a match that seemed completely decided.

And it was, despite the fact that the Parisians once again demonstrated enormous defensive fragility, conceding two goals in added time through a header from Esteban Lepaul (90+1′) and a header from Emmanuel Biumla (90+7′ ). João Neves came on towards the end and PSG ended up beating Angers to maintain their six-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 and return to winning ways after the defeat against Atl. Madrid in the Champions League.

It’s finished. No Parisian prevails in Angers! ?????????#SCOPSG (2-4) | #League1 pic.twitter.com/MAfH01oN3T

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) November 9, 2024