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Lens stun leaders PSG 3-1

Published:Monday | January 2, 2023 | 1:10 AM
PSG’s Kylian Mbappe is sent flying by a challenge from Lens’ Jonathan Gradit during the French League One match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain at the Bollaert stadium in Lens, France yesterday.
AP
PSG’s Kylian Mbappe is sent flying by a challenge from Lens’ Jonathan Gradit during the French League One match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain at the Bollaert stadium in Lens, France yesterday.

PARIS, France (AP):

French league leaders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) crumbled under pressure to lose 3-1 at Lens for their first defeat of the season yesterday as second-place Lens cut the gap to four points and maintained their perfect home record.

PSG’s weakness against the counterattack was ruthlessly exposed by Lens. The northern side scored at the start of each half and dominated the midfield battle against a rattled PSG to make it nine straight home victories for coach Franck Haise’s side. Lens have the league’s best defence with 11 goals allowed in 17 matches, compared to 13 for PSG.

The first goal came in the fifth minute.

Lens used their strong pressing game to win the ball and moved it wide left to Florian Sotoca, whose goal-bound cross was palmed away by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma only for winger Przemyslaw Frankowski to volley home.

The lead was short-lived as forward Hugo Ekitiké, given a rare start in the absence of Neymar and Lionel Messi, scored from close range three minutes later after Lens failed to deal with a cross from the right.

PSG were without Neymar, through suspension, and World Cup winner Messi, who is returning to training after an extended stay back home in Argentina.

PSG’s weakness against rapid attacks was exposed when midfielder Seko Fofana won the ball near his own penalty area and threaded a 40-metre pass to Loïs Openda. He expertly cut inside defender Marquinhos before slipping the ball under Donnarumma.

PSG conceded just two minutes into the second half as midfielder Fabien Ruiz lost the ball, Openda back-heeled it to forward Alexis Claude-Maurice and he slotted past Donnarumma.

PSG star Kylian Mbappé was kept quiet, with the league’s 13-goal top scorer mustering only a speculative shot in the 60th.

Monaco moved up to fourth place after winning 1-0 at home to Brest, with Russian midfielder Alexandr Golovin scoring in the 54th minute.

Monaco coach Philippe Clement made a bold choice selecting 17-year-old Eliesse Ben Seghir over established striker Wissam Ben Yedder, the club’s top scorer for the past three seasons.

“He brought a lot of energy to the team,” Clement said. “What’s important is not a player’s age but what he shows on the field.”

Ben Seghir made a sensational league debut in midweek, coming off the bench to score twice – including an Mbappé-style curling winner – to help Monaco win 3-2 at Auxerre.

Monaco are level on points with third-place Marseille, who play at Montpellier today.