PSG 6-2 Bordeaux Ligue 1 2017/18: match report, goals, action
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PSG 6-2 Bordeaux: match report
PSG got back to winning ways in Ligue 1 with a relatively straight-forward thonking of third-placed Bordeaux at the Parc des Princes on Saturday night with all of their big guns getting on the score sheet.
Neymar, on his return to league action having missed the trip to Montpellier, opened the scoring with a perfeclty-executed free-kick from 35 yards out as he continues to make a case for being handed all set piece duties in the future.
He put one on a plate for Cavani on 12 minutes, seven after the opener, as his teammate and rival all at once poked home underneath Benoit Costil as it looked like PSG would walk away with it. It was three nil after 21 minutes when Meunier drove home a cross from the left that Mbappé tried to connect with but missed and, in the process, put off a raft of Bordeaux defenders.
Bordeaux were attacking quite well despite the score and were on the scoresheet when Sankhare eased the ball home after Nicolas De Prenville put it on a plate for his teammate.
A silly handball by Otavio ended up with Neymar placing the ball on the penalty spot. He slotted home to put the game out of Bordeaux's reach one again and Draxler made it 5-1 when he slammed home a perfect Mbappé cross on the brink of half-time.
The only PSG goal of the second half came when Mbappé slotted past Costil to make it 6-1 after 58 minutes as the game's intensity took a massive hit with the goal. It had struggled to live up to the heights of the first half in any case. We had out eight and final goal of the game on 90 minutes when Cafu was hauled down by Meunier and Malcom buried the penalty.
PSG retain their grip on first place as Bordeaux can take solace in the fact that many very good teams will be leaving Parc des Princes with their tail between their legs with the attacking talent in this side.
PSG vs Bordeaux live stream online: as it happened
PSG vs Bordeaux: Ligue 1 match preview
The two remaining unbeaten sides in Ligue 1 meet at Parc des Princes on Saturday afternoon as Paris Saint-Germain host Girondins de Bordeaux.
PSG sit top of the table despite dropping points in the last round of matches with a 0-0 draw against Montpellier. Bordeaux sit in third place, four points behind their Parisian rivals.
Find out how and where you can watch PSG vs Bordeaux.
PSG
Unai Emery's team responded to dropping their first points of the season against Montpellier with an incisive 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The attacking trident of Neymar, Edinson Cavani, and Kylian Mbappé were lethal on the counter-attack in the game that cost Carlo Ancelotti his job as the manager of the Bundesliga champions.
Yet the victory against Bayern had a deeper significance than merely regaining momentum after a rare hiccup in Ligue 1. Reports of simmering resentment between Edinson Cavani and Neymar created the impression that all was not well in PSG's footballing utopia. The Uruguayan and the Brazilian both found the net on Wednesday evening, and their regular high-fives and embraces served to draw a public line under the dispute. For now, at least, the matter appears closed.
Argentine midfielder Javier Pastore remains the only absentee for Unai Emery, although he may choose to rotate his side in order to maintain the required freshness to compete on both domestic and European fronts.
Les Parisiens will need to tweak their approach for their return to Ligue 1 action. Against Bayern, they were content to concede possession to the Germans and gallop forward on the counter-attack. In the league, PSG have averaged 65 percent possession across the seven matches they have played so far, and will need to re-adjust to dictating the tempo of play.
With 21 goals in those seven matches, Bordeaux will need to perform stoically to retain their unbeaten status.
Bordeaux
Manager Jocelyn Gourvennec has moulded the team from southwestern France in to a well-balanced outfit, and Bordeaux's fine start to the season reflects that.
Les Girondins are yet to sample the bitter taste of defeat this season, but sit four points behind PSG as a consequence of having drawn two more games. Their strong start to the season represents continued momentum from the back end of 2016-17; Bordeaux are undefeated in 14 Ligue 1 matches if the run is stretched over the summer break. A 2-1 defeat to Nice on April 2 was the last time Gourvennec's side failed to pick up at least a point in the league, although it should be noted that most of the teams faced in that 14-game streak have been mid-to-lower-table opposition.
Bordeaux's showing in Europe has been less impressive. A sixth-place finish in Ligue 1 last season secured a passage to the Europa League qualifying rounds, where the French side came unstuck against Videoton, of Hungary.
Young Brazilian forward Malcom has been a stand-out player this season. And not just for Bordeaux, but in France as a whole. The 20-year-old, who arrived from Corinthians in the summer of 2016, already has three goals and four assists to his name this season. He is ably assisted by Senegalese midfielder Younousse Sankhare, who has already scored five goals across all competitions in the fledgling 2017-18 campaign.
PSG vs Bordeaux live online: predicted line-ups
PSG XI: Areola; Meunier, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Kurzawa; Rabiot, Verratti, Di María; Mbappé, Cavani, Neymar.
Bordeaux XI: Costil; Sabaly, Toulalan, Jovanovic, Pellenard; Leregar, Otávio, Sankhare; Malcom, Preville, Kamano.
PSG vs Bordeaux live online: odds and betting
Malcom is priced at 15/1 to open the scoring at Parc des Princes.
Place your bet on PSG vs Bordeaux.
