Paris Saint-Germain go back top of Ligue 1; Nartey shines on Lyon debut

Lyon beat Lille 1-0 in a match of few chances for both teams on Sunday. Nartay netted the decisive goal in the 37th minute and Lyon climbed to fourth in points table

Midfielder Noah Nartey made an immediate impact at his new club by scoring on his Ligue 1 debut to lead Lyon to a 10th consecutive win across all competitions, and Paris Saint-Germain won 2-1 at Strasbourg to reclaim top spot despite playing the last 15 minutes with 10 men.

Lyon beat Lille 1-0 in a match of few chances for both teams on Sunday. Nartay netted the decisive goal in the 37th minute and Lyon climbed to fourth, level on points with third-place Marseille.

PSG faced strong opposition and returned to first place after Nuno Mendes headed home the winner in the 81st as Strasbourg failed to capitalize on its numerical advantage. PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov saved a penalty in the first half.

 

Defending champion PSG holds a two-point lead over Lens, with Marseille and Lyon nine points adrift.

Mendes' goal from Warren Zaire-Emery's cross came only a few minutes after Achraf Hakimi was sent off for a reckless challenge on Joaquin Panichelli.

In an enthralling first half, Strasbourg had the chance to take the lead in the 19th minute from the penalty spot. But Safonov, a spot-kick specialist who was preferred to Lucas Chevalier in goal for the second match in a row, dived to deny Panichelli.

PSG broke the deadlock following a defensive mistake from Mamadou Sarr in the 22nd minute. The Strasbourg captain failed to clear the ball inside the box and instead fired it straight at Bradley Barcola. It fell to Senny Mayulu, who scored with a left-footed strike.

The hosts drew level five minutes later through a goal from Guela Doue, with his brother Desire Doue - who plays for PSG - watching from the visitors' bench.

The goal came at the conclusion of a move ignited by a brilliant pass from Panichelli that released Ben Chilwell on the left. The former Chelsea player then crossed into the middle for Doue to slot home.

"It was a very difficult match against a very difficult opponent," Safonov said.

"We were a bit lucky at the end of the game, it's true. It was a nervy ending."  It was a first league defeat for Strasbourg coach Gary O'Neil, who had been unbeaten since replacing Liam Rosenior following his fellow Englishman's departure to Premier League club Chelsea.

Nartay shines  The 20-year-old Danish player signed a five-year contract with Lyon last month, joining from Brondby.

Lille dominated the first half and Nartay showed his solid defensive skills. He then displayed his composure to send a low shot between the legs of the Lille goalkeeper. That capped a fine move by Ruben Kluivert, who had rushed down the the left flank then set up his teammate with a precise cut-back pass at the penalty spot.

"I'm proud of the team, we worked hard," Kluivert said.

"Lille was good, but we were better."  Nartay's goal extended Lille's losing streak to a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 match, with Bruno Genesio's team in fifth place, seven points behind Lyon.

More misery for Metz  Last-placed Metz slumped to a 14th defeat in 20 league matches this season, losing 1-0 at Angers. Metz's task was made harder early on when Jean-Philippe Gbamin was sent off after slipping on the ball and stamping on the ankle of Haris Belkebla.

Angers took advantage of the situation and Louis Mouton scored the decisive goal in the 25th minute with a precise finish.

Auxerre moved one point above Metz after a 0-0 draw at Toulouse, and Nice fought back from two goals down at home to draw 2-2 with Brest thanks to second-half goals from Ali Abdi and Elye Wahi.