In Strasbourg, Paris Saint-Germain found their way back from an early setback through a second-half surge led by Ousmane Dembélé, whose contribution from the bench drove a 3-1 away victory and changed the shape of the Ligue 1 table.
Key takeaways
- Dembélé entered during the second half after being rested at the start by Luis Enrique.
- Giovanni Reyna put Strasbourg ahead in the 17th minute against a heavily rotated PSG side.
- The France forward missed a penalty before creating Zabarnyi’s equaliser and scoring PSG’s second.
- Désiré Doué completed the comeback in stoppage time after Dembélé helped build the move.
- PSG moved from sixth into provisional joint first place on 14 points, level with Monaco.
A late turning point in Alsace
Luis Enrique had begun with many regulars held back, and Strasbourg took advantage in the opening period. Reyna struck after 17 minutes to give the home side a deserved early lead, leaving PSG with work to do after the interval.
The visitors changed the balance of the match by introducing Achraf Hakimi, Doué, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Dembélé. The decisive influence came from the No. 10, although his evening briefly appeared likely to go another way when he sent a 27th-minute penalty wide.
Dembélé responded quickly. Five minutes after the missed spot-kick, he collected the ball on the right of the area and delivered a measured cross for Zabarnyi to level the score. Soon afterwards, Hakimi’s cross was only partially cleared by the Strasbourg defence, and Dembélé met the loose ball from the edge of the box with a low finish to put Paris in front in the 40th minute.
There was still time for a third. In the 48th minute, Dembélé received possession inside the penalty area and laid it back for Ferrán Torres, whose cross found Doué to seal the result in added time.
Paris climb into the title picture
The result lifted PSG from sixth place into a provisional share of the Ligue 1 lead at the end of their seventh-round fixture. Paris and Monaco, coached by Brazilian Filipe Luís, both have 14 points.
The standings remain unsettled across the rest of the weekend. Lille, on 13 points, were still due to play on Saturday, while Rennes also had 13. Lyon and Paris FC, each on 11 points, were among the sides scheduled for Sunday action, along with Monaco.
