Monaco made it back-to-back wins to start their Ligue 1 campaign on Saturday as they outclassed Lyon 2-0 in the Groupama Stadium. Teenager Eliesse Ben Seghir capped a very fine performance with the opener midway through the second half, before Lamine Camara struck to secure the three points for the away side.
Lyon have had another difficult beginning to their league campaign and, after going down 3-0 at Rennes last weekend, have now shipped five goals in the opening two matches after being the form side of Ligue 1 in 2024.
Things started poorly for the hosts when they were forced into an early change after forward Ernest Nuamah appeared to pull a muscle and was replaced by new-signing Georges Mikautadze. The best chance of the first period fell to Monaco’s Japanese attacker Takumi Minamino on the half-hour. The ex-Liverpool man wriggled free of the defence inside the box with a deft touch but Lucas Perri flew out to narrow the angle and his outflung arm tipped the ball onto the far post.
After the break Monaco continued to dominate with the tricky Ben Seghir causing problems for the Lyon defence. The Moroccan found Minamino in a central position, who then laid the ball off to Breel Embolo but the forward’s powerful drive from just outside the box flew over the crossbar. Embolo then passed up another chance on 63 minutes when Maghnes Akliouche lofted a cross into the box and he attempted an overhead kick inside a crowded box, which blazed over the goal.
But Monaco pressure soon told and inevitably it was Ben Seghir and Akliouche that caused the breakthrough on 65 minutes. The 19-year-old zipped a pass into Akliouche, who then returned the favour before Ben Seghir shifted the ball onto his right foot in very little space and threaded a cute finish into the far corner.
Camara then put the match to bed as a contest in the 80th minute when he swept in unmarked at the back post to finish emphatically from Kassoum Ouattara’s cross.
Lille maintained their 100 percent record this season by beating newly-promoted Angers 2-0 thanks to goals either side of the break from Thomas Meunier and Mohamed Bayo. Meunier’s crisp outside-of-the-foot finish capped off a period of extended possession by the hosts in the 34th minute. Bayo then put paid to any hopes Angers had of nicking a first point of the campaign when he doubled Lille’s lead in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Barcola scores twice as PSG hit six past Montpellier
On Friday night, Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said his side had achieved “perfection” after thrashing Montpellier 6-0 to continue their strong start to life without Kylian Mbappe. Bradley Barcola scored twice while Marco Asensio, Achraf Hakimi, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lee Kang-in were also on target at the Parc des Princes for PSG.
The reigning Ligue 1 champions have now found the net 10 times in total while winning their opening two games of the season, suggesting the future is bright without departed star Mbappe.
PSG’s young team, featuring two teenagers in the starting line-up and a total of eight players aged between 18 and 25, played with verve and style, albeit against limited opposition. There was a first start for 19-year-old Portugal midfielder Joao Neves, a close-season recruit from Benfica for a fee that could eventually reach 69.9mn euros.
Meanwhile Desire Doue, also 19 and a member of the France team that recently won Olympic silver, came on as a second-half substitute for his debut after joining from Rennes for an initial 50 million euros.
PSG scored three late goals to win 4-1 at Le Havre last week as they began their defence of the title, but their performance here was far more accomplished and suggests they will take some beating as they chase an 11th French title in 13 seasons. That is despite losing their all-time top scorer in Mbappe, but their overwhelming superiority compared to the opposition in Ligue 1 cannot be forgotten. While PSG – backed by their Qatari owners – have spent 175 million euros in the summer transfer window, not including bonuses, on four new players, Montpellier have not signed anyone.
