Barcola-gol: Paris Saint Germain passes in Auxerre

While waiting for Saturday’s direct challenge between the two pursuers, Lens, now minus two, and Olympique Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain momentarily took back the top of the standings, returning to breathe (and making Luis Enrique happy at least with the result) after a complicated match won with difficulty at home by Auxerre 1-0.

Deciding the match was Bradley Barcola, who finally found the goal in the 80th minute by beating opposing goalkeeper Donovan Léon. Yet his evening could have taken a different turn: as early as the 2nd minute he had a chance to unlock the result, but he squandered the one-on-one with the rival goalkeeper, before missing two more clear chances in the second half (50′ and 63′). Only the final goal erased a performance so far full of mistakes.

The missed chances did not only concern Barcola. Gonçalo Ramos, not very incisive from the first minute, failed to materialize a header from a favorable position in the 30th minute, while Ibrahim Mbaye, less brilliant than in his national team games, hesitated too much on a good opportunity in the box in the 36th minute.

The goal was not the only one.

Désiré Doué, who joined Ousmane Dembélé in the second half, also had his chance but wasted it without conviction in the 75th minute, confirming his complicated moment.