Recap: Dembélé brace hands PSG tight win over ASSE

PSG continued their winning run with a 2-1 victory over Saint-Étienne at the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening thanks to a brace from Ousmane Dembélé.

Luis Enrique and Paris Saint-Germain continued their charge at the top of the Ligue 1 McDonald's table with a tight 2-1 win over a plucky Saint-Étienne side at the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening. Les Parisiens opened the scoring via Ousmane Dembélé, who bursted down the right side and cut-in from the wing, firing a low finish past Larsonneur (13'). It would only take ten minutes for the same face to double the lead for PSG, with the Frenchman stepping up to convert a penalty after a handball was given against ASSE defender Léo Petrot (23'). The hosts were dangerous down that right hand side, with Achraf Hakimi combining with Dembélé with deadly results. Senny Maylulu would create the next chance for Les Parisiens as a quick feint fooled the Saint-Étienne defence and his cross was spilled but eventually gathered by Larsonneur. Kang-In Lee was next up with a strike well over the bar after Dembélé fed him on the edge of the box with a well-placed pullback. 

Bradley Barcola was found with a searching through ball by Dembélé and the young Frenchman did everything right as he beared down on goal, but Larsonneur was able to match him with a stunning stop one on one. Barcola was again in the middle of the action, firing into the back of the net after pinching the ball off Benjamin Bouchouari. Yet the referee adjudged the France U21 international to have made a foul in taking the ball when consulting VAR. Les Parisiens looked dominant, as they created danger and exposed a lot of spaces between the Saint-Étienne players. Lucas Stassin tried his luck from range on the counter-attack, but the 20-year-old's strike didn't trouble Donnarumma in between the sticks for PSG. Nuno Mendes then came with a great run down the right side and crossed perfectly to Gonçalo Ramos, but he couldn't finish from what was a difficult angle.

The beginning of the second half very much followed the pattern of the first, with PSG creating several chances through Bradley Barcola early on. Yet there was hope for the visitors when Zuriko Davitashvili stepped up and fired a freekick past Gianluigi Donnarumma (64'). With the deficit reduced to just one goal, Les Verts were pushing for a solution to get back onto level terms with the Capital club. Yet Sainté couldn't create any dangerous chances to find that decisive equaliser, as PSG went on to seal the victory to keep their 7-point lead at the top of the table. 

The StaT:  50

PSG manager Luis Enrique oversaw his 50th win as manager of the club against Saint-Étienne. Les Parisiens are now unbeaten in 17 Ligue 1 Mcdonald's games this season (W13 D4 in 2024-25).

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