Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi combine to save the Parisians from embarrassment in Ligue 1 late on against Brest. Les Pirates matched the league leaders well, equalising through Franck Honorat after Carlos Soler opened the scoring.
The Parisians took the lead on the 36th minute thanks in part to a Kylian Mbappé long shot which Brest keeper Marco Bizot fumbled into the path of Carlos Soler whose rebound was directed well into the back of the net.
PSG couldn’t then impose themselves further on the game, and Brest took advantage of their successful early attempts to play in behind the Parisian backline to set up Franck Honorat for a clinical finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma. Pyrotechnic mayhem ensued in the home side’s ultra section, stopping play for several minutes but reflecting the possibility of a huge upset being on the cards for Les Pirates.
Eric Roy’s side came out in the second half with a resurgent intensity, undoubtably buoyed by the equaliser. Both sides pushed in the second half, and it looked like Brest were going to come away with a draw – however Kylian Mbappé struck in the 89th minute, fed by Lionel Messi, to win the match for PSG with the captain’s armband.
Stade Brestois:
Marco Bizot, 6
Noah Fadiga, 5
Achraf Dari, 6
Jean-Kévin Duverne, 6 – Was effective in both an offensive capacity as well as showing his defensive discipline on the left side for Brest, his driving runs worried Pémbéle and required an extra midfielder to try and cover him.
Lilian Brassier, 6
Pierre Lees-Melou, 6
Franck Honorat. 7 – A colossal offensive performance of the left hand side, taking advantage of Pembélé’s lack of experience. Yet his goal came from a perfectly timed run which split Sergio Ramos and Danilo, his touch and finish past Donnarumma was exquisite.
Hugo Magnetti 6
Haris Belkebla 6
Romain Del Castillo, 6 – A threat in the first half especially on the right side. Castillo had the vision to see Franck Honorat’s run and execute an inch perfect lobbed through ball for the Frenchman to equalise for Les Pirates.
Steve Mounie, 6 – Extremely effective in the build-up with his hold-up play and offensive positioning, his role in the goal was essential for the movement to be pulled off,
Others:
Le Douaron
Paris Saint-Germain:
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 5
Timothé Pémbélé, 4 – Looked exposed, inexperienced, and did not receive enough support in the defensive phase. Whilst he promised moments, his performance shows how much Hakimi is missed.
Sergio Ramos, 4 – Could not deal with Franck Honorat’s driving runs in behind, and once again looked as if he lacked pace when Brest would try to hit PSG on the counter attack. Was not organised enough with Danilo in the lead up to the equaliser.
Danilo Pereirra, 5
Nuno Mendes, 6
Marco Verratti, 5
Carlos Soler, 6 – Played in the space between Messi, Mbappé and the midfield pair of Verratti and Ruiz. Whilst his performance was not anything out of the ordinary, he managed to be effective offensively in the first half, and scoring with a well-directed rebound to open the lead for PSG.
Fabian Ruiz, 5
Warren Zaïre-Emery, 5
Kylian Mbappé, 6 – The Frenchman wore the PSG armband for the first time in Ligue 1, but struggled to impose himself on the match in the first half. In a similar vein to the Bayern Munich game, he found himself isolated and not managing to spark that link up with Lionel Messi for large periods of the game. The Frenchman however turned up where it mattered, and latched onto Lionel Messi’s low through ball, skipping past Bizot and finishing into an empty net to save PSG embarrassment
Lionel Messi, 5 – Whilst looking bright in the early stages of the game and in PSG’s build up, the Argentine continued the form he showed against Bayern Munich, largely showing himself to be ineffective. However the World Cup winner popped up when he needed to provide yet another assist for Kylian Mbappé.
GFFN | George Boxall