(Lens 3–1 PSG) The big French club were missing two of their greatest players when they went on their first belly dive of the year.
Lionel Messi is still on holiday in Argentina, while Neymar was suspended after being sent off for the Christmas space shoot, but PSG have nonetheless fielded a star-studded squad with French superstar Kylian Mbappé at the top.
It didn’t help. Przemyslaw Frankowski gave the home side the lead before five minutes had elapsed. Hugo Ekitike equalized from close range three minutes later, but Loïs Openda put Lens back in front before the half hour mark. After a loss of the ball by Carlos Soler, Openda fooled both Sergio Ramos and Marquinhos before scoring.
At the start of the second half, Alexis Claude-Maurice made it 3-1 with an assist from Openda’s back-heel.
Lens’ victory means PSG’s gap at the top of the table has been reduced to four points. The big club managed 14 wins and two draws from their 16 league games before the end of the year, but lost on the first day of 2023.
The consolation for PSG is that Messi should return to work as soon as possible and that Neymar has served his quarantine.
