Olympique Lyonnais – Paris Saint-Germain: A decisive blow to the title (2-3)

Preparing for the knockout match against Liverpool, Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain came up against an opponent that tried to sabotage their play in the central corridors and third-man play. But you couldn’t do much against talent.

Tactical analysis and match report by Juan Lauz.

After Olympique Marseille's defeat, Paris Saint-Germain sought to almost definitely close the Ligue 1 title race, aiming for their eighth consecutive victory across all competitions and extending a 13-point lead over their closest rival.

For their part, Olympique Lyonnais wanted to continue putting pressure on the Champions League spots, being five points behind the playoff position for the competition. To achieve this, Paulo Fonseca’s side repeated almost the same starting eleven from their last victory against Montpellier. The defense, from left to right, was formed by Nicolás Tagliafico, Moussa Niakhaté, Clinton Mata, and Saël Kumbedi; the midfield was made up of Tanner Tessmann as the central midfielder, with Corentin Tolisso on the left and Nemanja Matić on the right. Up front, Malick Fofana came in, pushing Rayan Cherki to the wing, with Ernest Nuamah on the right side.

The visitors lined up with their usual 4-3-3 formation, with Désiré Doué returning to the starting eleven in the midfield and Lucas Beraldo coming in for Willian Pacho. The rest were the regulars who had defeated Brest 7-0 in the Champions League.

Lyonnais doing what they need to do

Perhaps the best representation of how the first half unfolded, or at least the first thirty minutes, was the kickoff by Olympique Lyonnais, which resembled rugby, quickly giving . . .