Paris: Moussa Dembele scored and won a penalty as Lyon stunned Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 on Sunday to end the runaway leaders’ hopes of an unbeaten Ligue 1 campaign.
Angel Di Maria fired PSG into a seventh-minute lead, but Dembele equalised and Nabil Fekir scored the winner from the spot three minutes after half-time.
“I don’t know if the defeat was deserved. In the first half it was deserved, but after half-time, we still dominated,” said PSG forward Kylian Mbappe.
The reigning champions remain 10 points clear of second-placed Lille at the top of the table despite the defeat, with two games in hand, while Lyon strengthened their grip on third spot, three points further back.
“We did what we had planned, namely high pressing, quick transitions, and to cause them problems every time we had the ball,” said Lyon coach Bruno Genesio. “I don’t think they’re used to that in Ligue 1.”
All eyes will now turn to the Champions League for PSG, with only a French Cup tie at third-tier Villefranche and a home game against Bordeaux to come before the last-16, first-leg clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford on February 12.
Man United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his assistant Mike Phelan were both in attendance at the Groupama Stadium on Sunday, just hours after their side’s 1-0 Premier League win at Leicester.
The pair would have learnt plenty from watching Lyon regularly slice through the PSG defence against seemingly little resistance, while Mbappe shouldered the majority of the attacking responsibility in the absence of the injured Neymar.
“I’m not worried about the Champions League,” insisted Mbappe. “We must take it match by match and wait for the Champions League.”
On paper, this looked the toughest test remaining for PSG in their bid to go through the league season unbeaten, having won on just two of their previous 13 Ligue 1 visits to Lyon, losing seven.
In La Liga, Karim Benzema scored his sixth goal in four games as Real Madrid beat Alaves 3-0 on Sunday for a fourth successive league victory which took the European champions to within eight points of leaders Barcelona.
The French striker knocked a cross from Spanish left back Sergio Reguilon into the net from close range on the half-hour mark, breaking the deadlock against an organised Alaves side who beat Real 1-0 earlier in the season at Mendizorrotza.
Santiago Solari’s side looked comfortable without hitting top gear although they did not seal the victory until in-form Brazilian Vinicius Jr. tapped into the net in the 80th minute to score his first goal in La Liga.
