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| Neymar Jr of PSG, Maghnes Akliouche of Monaco (left) during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and AS Monaco (ASM) at Parc des Princes stadium on August 28, 2022 in Paris, France. |
Neymar scored from the
penalty spot but Paris Saint-Germain’s perfect start to the French campaign was
ended in a 1-1 draw with Monaco on Sunday, while Alexis Sanchez scored his
first goals for Marseille in a 3-0 win at Nice.
In Paris, Neymar rolled
in his eighth goal in five matches this season from a penalty awarded when the
VAR alerted the on-pitch referee to a foul on the Brazilian by Monaco defender
Guillermo Maripan midway through the second half.
Monaco had taken the
lead when Kevin Volland burst forward, holding off Presnel Kimpembe, before
firing past Gianluigi Donnarumma 20 minutes in at the Parc des Princes.
The principality side
played well, yet PSG deserved at least the draw from a game in which they hit
the woodwork three times.
Nevertheless, the
result does slightly puncture their momentum after a start to the season in
which they had won their opening three league games, scoring 17 goals in the
process.
They also beat Nantes
4-0 in the season-opening Champions Trophy but Monaco were easily the most
accomplished side they had faced yet.
“We had difficulties in
the first half against a European-level opponent but we deserved to win the
game based on our second-half showing,” PSG coach Christophe Galtier told
broadcaster Amazon Prime.
PSG have 10 points from
four games and are top of Ligue 1, but only on goal difference from Lens and
Marseille.
Volland silenced the
home crowd when he ran through to fire Monaco in front, although that was to be
his last involvement as he hurt himself while shooting.
PSG were denied an
equaliser right on the stroke of half-time in remarkable fashion, as Lionel
Messi smashed a long-range shot off the left-hand post, before Kylian Mbappe
hit the opposite upright from the rebound.
Monaco were also
grateful to goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel for saving from Neymar from point-blank
range after the restart, but PSG got their equaliser with 20 minutes to go, as
Mbappe left the penalty duties to his Brazilian teammate.
“The order was Kylian
number one and Neymar number two but I saw they had an exchange and Neymar
spoke to Kylian before taking the penalty,” said Galtier.
PSG then had chances to
win all three points, with Achraf Hakimi’s fierce shot hitting the post in the
74th minute, before Nuebel denied Mbappe late on.
Marseille’s Arsenal
connection
Sanchez netted a
first-half brace as Marseille eased to victory in Nice to maintain their
unbeaten start to the season.
The Chilean former
Arsenal star, who signed a one-year contract after leaving Inter Milan, opened
the scoring in the 10th minute, firing into the roof of the net past goalkeeper
Kasper Schmeichel.
On-loan Arsenal
wing-back Nuno Tavares made it 2-0 in the 37th minute, his low strike from
outside the area beating Schmeichel at the goalkeeper’s near post.
It was his third goal
in four games since arriving on loan from the Gunners, and Sanchez then
followed in to make it 3-0 before the interval after a Tavares shot had been
parried.
Ivory Coast
international Nicolas Pepe failed to make an impact for Nice on his debut after
also signing on loan from Arsenal.
Elsewhere, Junya Ito
became just the third Japanese player ever to score a Ligue 1 goal as Reims
drew 1-1 with Lyon.
Signed from Belgian
club Genk last month, Ito headed Reims in front in the first half to follow in
the footsteps of compatriots Daisuke Matsui and Hiroki Sakai in scoring in
Ligue 1.
Reims had Dion Lopy
sent off in the second half and could not hold on as Moussa Dembele equalised
late on.
Meanwhile, Montpellier
recorded their biggest ever top-flight away win, hammering Brest 7-0 in
Brittany.
Elye Wahi and Valere
Germain both scored twice, while Pierre Lees-Melou was sent off for Brest,
whose coach Michel Der Zakarian was formerly in charge of Montpellier.
“I’ve already taken two
paracetamol and I am going to take two more,” said Der Zakarian.
There were also wins
for Nantes, Lorient and Troyes. Lens beat Rennes 2-1 on Saturday.
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