KYLIAN MBAPPE scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win away at Lyon on Sunday to leave their crisis-hit opponents bottom of Ligue 1.
Meanwhile, Ireland U21 international Jake O’Brien made the matchday squad for the first time since joining Lyon from Crystal Palace earlier this month.
The 22-year-old from Cork impressed on loan last season at Belgian second-tier side RWD Molenbeek.
After moving to the Ligue 1 team, there was some suggestion the youngster could be set for another loan spell initially, however, his appearance on the bench tonight suggests he is not far off a starting spot for Laurent Blanc’s side.
Mbappe’s two goals in the first half sandwiched strikes by Achraf Hakimi and Marco Asensio as PSG produced a ruthless performance that augurs well for the rest of the season.
Corentin Tolisso pulled one back with a penalty for Lyon but the seven-time former French champions are enduring a miserable start to the campaign and are bottom with just one point from four games.
Blanc’s side prop up the division on goal difference behind last season’s runners-up Lens and Clermont.
Lyon’s players are dressed down by the Bad Gones ultras in extraordinary fashion following their 4-1 home loss vs PSG:
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) September 3, 2023
“There were people who wore the Lyon shirt before you who gave everything for it. Don’t defile/smear it.” pic.twitter.com/Fozj0AyqsW
PSG, meanwhile, are up to second, two points behind early league leaders Monaco, after a second straight win to follow draws in their opening two games.
“It is a great result. It is not easy to come and win here, regardless of what the opposition are going through,” said PSG captain Marquinhos.
“We are not yet playing exactly the way the coach wants us to but we are making great progress.
“He is very demanding, very hard with us. He has said there is still room for improvement.”
Luis Enrique’s team are building towards the start of their Champions League campaign which will see them come up against Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Newcastle United in the group stage.
They still have Randal Kolo Muani to come into the team after the France striker joined from Eintracht Frankfurt in a reported 90 million-euro ($97m) deal just before the transfer window closed on Friday.
This game came too soon for Kolo Muani to make his debut, but there was a first appearance for Bradley Barcola after he joined from Lyon on Thursday for a fee that could reach 50 million euros.
Barcola came off the bench late on to a chorus of jeers and whistles from the home support, but the game was well and truly over by then.
PSG went ahead in the fourth minute as Mbappe netted a penalty after Manuel Ugarte’s pressing led to him being brought down in the box by Tolisso.
Hakimi made it 2-0 on 20 minutes, following in to score after Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes had turned a low Ousmane Dembele cross out into his path.
- Blanc under pressure -
The visitors needed Gianluigi Donnarumma to make fine saves from Rayan Cherki and Tolisso, while in between that Hakimi hit the bar at the end of a lighting PSG counterattack.
They scored again on 38 minutes in clinical fashion, Ugarte releasing Asensio for the former Real Madrid man to score his second goal in as many games.
Asensio turned provider as PSG made it 4-0 in first-half stoppage time, sending Mbappe through to beat Lopes for his second of the night and his fifth in three games since returning to the team following a contract dispute.
The final score could have been embarrassing for Lyon but Dembele hit the bar with a header early in the second half and the hosts then won a penalty in the 73rd minute.
A lengthy VAR check deciphered a trip by Warren Zaire-Emery on Nicolas Tagliafico, and Tolisso tucked in the resulting spot-kick.
Yet Lyon’s dreadful start to the season on the pitch comes amid turbulence off it under new American owner John Textor, who was not able to make the summer signings he desired because of the club’s financial situation.
The team’s results pile pressure on coach Blanc, the former PSG boss who took over less than a year ago.
A banner unfurled by fans during the game called on him to resign.
“The supporters are entitled to be disappointed, with the team and the coach,” he told broadcaster Amazon Prime.
“But in our situation, I don’t think there is only one person who is responsible. Everyone is responsible.”
Lyon are bottom after Clermont claimed their first point of the season earlier on Sunday, equalising late on to draw 2-2 at Toulouse.
There were also wins on Sunday for Le Havre, Lille and Nice.
Monaco went clear at the summit with a 3-0 win over Lens on Saturday.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
