Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Lyon on Sunday, marking their second consecutive home defeat.
Lyon's Bradley Barcola scored the only goal
of the match as PSG's World Cup winning superstar Lionel Messi was jeered by
some sections of the crowd.
PSG had previously lost 2-0 at home to Rennes
two weeks ago, with Barcola's goal marking the fifth Ligue 1 loss for the
Parisians this season, all in 2023. The defeat leaves Christophe Galtier's side
just six points ahead of both second-placed Lens and Marseille in third.
The night began in controversial fashion as
whistling greeted Messi's name in one part of the stadium during the team
line-ups, while fans in another area shouted in response
"Messi". The 35-year-old Messi
is nearing the end of his two-year contract with the Paris club and has been
linked with a return to Barcelona, although talks have begun for a possible
renewal.
In two seasons, Messi has played 67 matches
with PSG, scoring 29 goals, including Sunday's game against ninth-placed Lyon.
"The whistles, I find that hard," said Galtier. "Leo is a player
who gives a lot and who has given a lot since the start of the season. He
added, "he is such a player that with a stroke of genius is able to
deliver the right ball, to provide an assist, to score a goal. I never once
thought about taking him off.
PSG midfielder Danilo acknowledged that the
team had hit "a difficult phase" that they needed to overcome, given
that their rivals were closing in. "We have to wake up. The title is not
guaranteed at all, there are still a lot of matches," he said on Prime
Video. "There are lot of things to change, not just the mindset, but it's
not up to me to say what.
PSG's injuries have severely hampered the
team, with Neymar recovering from ankle surgery and their defense decimated. On
Sunday, PSG called up 17-year-old central defender El Chadaille Bitshiabu, but
he was overawed and gave away the ball too often. Kylian Mbappe couldn't repeat
his late scoring heroics, as he did in recent games against Strasbourg and
Brest.
"We can't expect everything from Leo and
Kylian," said Galtier. "It's our eighth defeat in 2023, it's far too
many. PSG's next match is against Nice, who are undefeated since January 2,
before a crucial home clash with second-placed Lens.
Monaco has maintained their push for a Champions League slot with a rollercoaster 4-3 home win over lowly Strasbourg. Monaco took an 18th-minute lead through Vanderson but trailed 2-1 at the interval, with Lebo Mothiba and an own-goal by Chilean defender Guillermo Maripan giving Strasbourg the edge.
Eliesse Ben Seghir, Edan Diop, and Youssouf Fofana scored three goals
inside an 11-minute spell in the second half to give Monaco a 4-2 lead. Habib
Diallo's stoppage-time strike was only a consolation for Strasbourg.
Monaco now has 57 points, just three behind
third-placed Marseille, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Montpellier on Friday.
"As I told the players, we saw two faces of Monaco tonight," said
Monaco coach Philippe Clement.
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