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Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) endured their first defeat of the season on New Year’s Day, losing 3-1 to second-placed Lens at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Sunday.
Przemyslaw Frankowski, Lois Openda, and Alexis Claude found the back of the net for Lens while Hugo Ekitike scored PSG’s only goal of the night. The win leaves Lens in a strong position in the title race, with them sitting within four points of Christopher Galtier’s side.
The Parisians seemed confident on the ball in the opening exchanges, keeping the game moving with short, crisp passes. Lens, however, looked unbothered by their spell on the ball, as they waited in the wings to hit them on the break.
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The opportunity arose in the fifth minute when they intercepted the ball in midfield and broke at pace. From the left flank, Massadio Haidara volleyed the ball into the box, which Gianluigi Donnarumma tried to punch clear. His contact, however, was spotty, and the ball went straight to Frankowski, who hit the back of the empty net.
Lens’ well-worked opening goal was canceled out by Ekitike just three minutes later. Nordi Mukiele dashed down the right flank and sent in a low cross in front of the near post. The ball looked destined to be collected by the keeper, but Ekitike was quicker to react and managed to turn it past Brice Samba.
PSG’s joy was shortlived, though, as Lens superbly restored their one-goal cushion a couple of minutes before the half-hour mark. Seko Fofana did ever so well to intercept the ball in the middle, beat both Carlos Soler and Kylian Mbappe, and play Openda through on goal with a through ball. Openda got the better of Marquinhos inside the box and slotted the ball beyond Donnarumma.
A couple of minutes into the second half, Claude scored Lens’ insurance goal. Openda, once again, was at the heart of the attack as he recovered possession in midfield and set Claude up with a cheeky backheel. Claude steadied himself before hitting the back of the net with a right-footed drive.
In the 61st minute, Achraf Hakimi cut inside from the right and fed Mbappe. The forward managed to get past his marker, but his shot was not good enough to beat Samba. In the 75th minute, Pablo Sarabia directed a header toward Lens' goal. Samba reacted promptly to thwart his effort before Frankowski sent it behind for a corner.
PSG failed to do anything of note in the last 20-odd minutes of the match and ultimately fell to their first defeat since March 2022. Here are five Parisians who disappointed on the first day of 2023:
#5 Carlos Soler
Carlos Soler was deployed in a number 10 role against Lens. However, thanks to the hosts’ tenacity, he could not play his natural game. He was harassed off the ball quite a few times, did not find clear passing lanes, and never looked like causing harm to Lens’ back line.
In PSG’s first match of the year, Soler misplaced two crosses, had no attempts on goal, and lost possession seven times. He also did not bring anything to the table in terms of defending, not even recording a single attempted tackle or clearance.
#4 Marquinhos
PSG skipper Marquinhos was one of their most reliable performers in 2022. He failed to bring that same confidence into the first game of 2023. He was weak in ground duels, failed to cut out threatening passes, and was breezed past by Openda before the Lens man’s 28th-minute strike.
On Sunday night, Marquinhos lost two of three ground duels, did not make any interceptions, and was dribbled past once. He also lost possession five times and committed a foul.
#3 Fabian Ruiz
Former Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz got a rare opportunity to start in PSG’s midfield. The talented Spaniard, however, failed to make it count. He was unconvincing on the ball, rarely ventured into dangerous areas, and lost possession cheaply at times.
Against second-placed Lens, Ruiz failed to play any key passes. He misplaced a cross and a long ball each, had only one shot, which flew off target, lost possession 13 times, and came out second-best in two ground duels.
#2 Gianluigi Donnarumma
One of the most highly-rated goalkeepers in the world, Gianluigi Donnarumma, had a game to forget against Lens. The Italian shot-stopper conceded thrice over the course of the night, and he should have done considerably better to stop the first two goals.
His attempted clearance of Haidara’s cross was weak and fell straight to Frankowski, who finished from close range. In the 28th minute, Openda got the better of Donnarumma in a one-on-one situation. The Italy international did not look all that convincing coming off his line, which allowed Openda to take his time and slide the ball underneath him.
#1 Kylian Mbappe
With Neymar suspended and Lionel Messi recovering from World Cup duty, Kylian Mbappe started as the focal point of PSG’s attack on Sunday. Lens recognized the threat early on and did ever so well to keep him from stretching his legs.
They swarmed him whenever he was on the ball and made sure the keeper could predict the channel his shows would be coming from. The Frenchman failed to escape their watch and cut a frustrating figure in front of goal.
On Sunday, Mbappe only completed two of his eight attempted dribbles. He misplaced four crosses, lost eight of 13 duels, and lost possession a staggering 16 times.
