PSG all but wrapped up the Ligue 1 title with a slender 1-0 victory over Brest on Sunday night, with Désiré Doué coming on to score the winning goal. The Parisians now have a six-point lead over Lens with two games each left to play, including a top-of-the-table clash on Wednesday.
The match
Luis Enrique’s men could virtually wrap up their fourteenth Ligue 1 title with victory over Brest, re-establishing their six-point lead on Lens before travelling up north on Wednesday night. Predictably enough, the Asturian fielded a rotated eleven for Sunday’s reception of the Breton side, with only Marquinhos and Fabián Ruiz retaining their spots.
Bereft of any feeling of urgency, the hosts dominated the early exchanges but were unable to trouble Brest goalkeeper Coudert. The best chances fell to Spanish midfielder Dro Fernández, who saw a close-range shot parried after breaking into the box before pulling another effort wide minutes later.
There were a few more chances for PSG before half-time, either side of a ten-minute break as the referee had a technical issue with his earpiece looked to. When the visitors did attack, Renato Marin did well to keep out shots from Le Guen and former PSG man Dina Ebimbe.
The second half mostly followed the same pattern, prompting Luis Enrique to throw on his starting front three for the final half-hour. Senny Mayulu, who started the game at right-back, was inches away from opening the scoring with twenty minutes to go with a powerful shot that thundered off the bar and then the post.
It was Désiré Doué, making his 100th appearance for the Parisians, who eventually found a way through with ten minutes remaining. After a series of PSG shots were blocked by the Breton defence, the substitute picked up the ball on the edge of the box, fended off two defenders, and slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner.
PSG player ratings
Renato Marin, 7 – The Italian goalkeeper turned in an impressive performance in what was only his third appearance of the campaign in all competitions. His highlight came on the half-hour mark when he rushed out of his goal to deny Dina Ebimbe at close quarters, although the flag eventually went up for offside.
Senny Mayulu, 6
Marquinhos, 5
Ilya Zabarnyi, 5
Lucas Hernandez, 5
Dro Fernández, 4
Lucas Beraldo, 6
Fabián Ruiz, 5
Kang-in Lee, 4
Gonçalo Ramos, 3 – A recurring theme of the Portugal striker’s Paris Saint-Germain career has been his inability to make an impact as a starter. Sunday’s match was no different, leading to his replacement on the hour mark by Ousmane Dembélé.
Bradley Barcola, 3 – Another disappointing display for the French international, who has not scored in the league since March. He squandered several opportunities to find Ramos in the box and was largely unsuccessful in one-on-one situations, with Le Guen doing well to blunt his explosive potential in his dribbles.
The starkest contrast between Sunday evening’s starters and the front three that star in the Champions League is in their commitment to high pressing. Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia, and Doué all made an instant impact in this department when they came on against the Bretons, breathing new life into the PSG attack. The latter came on for Barcola, and scored the goal that will likely clinch the league title.
Selected Brest player ratings
Grégoire Coudert, 6
Raphaël Le Guen, 7 – An excellent performance from the 19-year-old centre-back, who managed to keep both Barcola and Ramos quiet by winning most of his one-on-one duels.
Romain Del Castillo, 4
Kamory Doumbia, 4
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from the Parc des Princes
