By Goal.com News on Sunday, 18 April 2021
Category: Goal.com News

LIVE: PSG vs Saint-Etienne

76' The game is starting to open up for both sides in the final third. PSG have been thwarted thus far this afternoon, but remain dangerous in the attacking third.

75' SAVE! Verratti sends a precise offload into the path of Florenzi to strike in the right-inside channel, but his effort is repelled by the fists of Green, diverting the ball behind for a corner.

73' OVER! Di Maria drops his shoulder on the right flank and cuts inside to shoot on his left foot, but he blazes his effort well over the bar.

71' Bouanga has Aouchiche in space in the final third and releases the forward. However, he is not strong enough to fend off Kehrer and spurns a decent opening for the visitors.

70' Bouanga has a surge at Kehrer in the left inside channel and he almost finds space to pull the trigger. He opts for a drag-back and loses posssession to Florenzi.

65' Pochettino has seen enough from some of his players this afternoon. He is readying several changes on the sideline.

63' Kean almost finds a way through the Saint-Etienne defence, but Cisse comes in with a strong challenge to knock the ball away from the forward.

61' Nordin has space and time, but few options around him. He goes for goal, only to saw his right-footed strike saved by Rico.

58' WIDE! Mbappe lines up a strike from a free-kick following Neyou's foul, but his effort travels just wide of the left post. It was always curling away from Green, but it could not find the target.

57' Sarabia is caught late by Moukoudi on the edge of the Saint-Etienne box. The referee awards a free-kick to the home side.

55' Kean latches on to an offload from Florenzi and he rifles a shot at goal, but Moukoudi is well placed to block his effort.

54' Mbappe tries to square up Cisse on the edge of the box, but the defender does well to fend off the forward, which allows Green to race off his line and smother the ball.

53' Kean turns in space 25 yards from goal and lines up a drive. Moukoudi comes out of the line to block his strike wide of the right post.

52' Nordin makes a great burst down the right flank and he sends a dangerous low cross into the middle that Kehrer has to clear, although there was no green shirt in the six-yard area.

51' Debuchy is back on the field for the visitors at right-back. Puel would not want to lose his skipper.

49' Debuchy competes with Kean a loose ball down the right flank, but loses out to the forward. He does not get a free-kick, but remains down after the fact in the need of treatment.

47' Nordin makes an impact off the bench by fouling Herrera. It allows Sarabia to float a cross into the box that the visitors clear trough Moukoudi.

46' We're back under way at the Parc des Princes.

Kylian Mbappe has endured a tough afternoon so far. The forward has taken a few knocks and has failed to capitalise on two half-chances, although he perhaps should have hit the target with his last effort before the interval. In games of his nature, PSG need their main man to come to the fore.

It's goalless at the break between Paris Saint-Germain and Saint-Etienne at the Parc des Princes. The home side have come close to taking the lead as Pablo Sarabia saw his free-kick strike the post, while Rafinha was denied by a solid stop from Etienne Green. Claude Puel's are proving to be a stubborn unit to break down this afternoon.

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: PSG 0-0 SAINT-ETIENNE

45' + 1' Saint_Etienne win a free-kick as Monnet-Paquet is fouled by Herrera. However, the resulting cross from Yousouf is cleared away by Kimpembe ahead of Cisse.

45' There will be one minute of added time.

43' Mbappe stays on the ground after the challenge and requires treatment, but he soon gets to his feet to resume the game.

42' CHANCE! Mbappe intercepts a loose pass from Trauco and leaves Moukoudi in his wake. He runs into a shooting position, but smashes his right-footed strike over the bar. Moukoudi catches him after the fact and PSG appeal for a penalty, but the referee only points for a goal-kick.

41' Bakker takes a neat touch inside and feeds Rafinha, who in turn releases the run of Sarabia. He clips a cross to the back post, but it's easy for Green to claim.

38' Khazri goes down under pressure from Florenzi, but does not get the free-kick. The Tunisia international then brings down Florenzi with a late challenge. The Saint-Etienne forward avoids a booking.

37' The visitors are proving to be a stubborn opponent for PSG to break down this afternoon. Puel will be thrilled with their performance thus far.

35' SAVE! Rafinha surges through the middle of the Saint-Etienne midfield and lines up a powerful strike on his left foot. Green is alert and makes a fine reaction stop before Trauco sweeps the rebound behind for a corner.

34' Mbappe tries to create space down the left flank, but his attempted cross into the box is diverted behind by Moukoudi.

33' DISALLOWED GOAL! Khazri finishes with a sublime half-volley into the bottom-left corner after latching on to a quick free-kick from Trauco. However, the flag goes up late for offside against the Saint-Etienne forward.

31' Saint-Etienne pressure the home side down the right flank and win a corner. Youssouf whips a cross into the middle that Cisse attacks, but he sends his glancing header wide of the right post.

29' OFF THE POST AND OVER!! Sarabia comes within inches of breaking the deadlock. He curls a sublime effort over the wall and towards the bottom-right corner, but his attempt clatters off the post. Danilo pounces on the rebound, only to blast his strike over.

27' Camara catches Rafinha with a stray boot and gives away a free-kick in a dangerous position 25 yards from goal.

25' Mbappe draws a crowd on the edge of the Saint-Etienne box before feeding Florenzi down the right flank. He sends a dangerous cross to the back post, but Debuchy tucks in to clear with a solid header.

24' OFFSIDE! Hamouma breaks behind the PSG defence to latch on to a sublime offload from Youssouf with the outside of his left boot, but he sends his right-footed strike narrowly over the bar. It would not have mattered anyway as the forward was just offside.

23' Danilo meets a corner from the right flank from Sarabia, but the ball loops harmlessly into the hands of Green.

22' Mbappe stretches to take a precise ball from Herrera down in the box, but Cisse reacts to boot a clearance over his own bar to prevent the forward firing at goal.

19' OVER! Mbappe moves freely to latch on to a incisive pass from Herrera into the left-inside channel. He goes for a blast from a tight angle that travels over the bar. However, Pochettino will be relieved to see his star man moving without impairment.

18' SAVE! Khazri releases Hamouma with a cross-field pass on the counter. The forward has space and time, but he drills a tame effort from 20 yards straight at Rico.

16' Mbappe is moving gingerly around the field after the challenge from Neyou. It might be one that he can run off. Pochettino will be concerned though.

15' Mbappe tries to bustle his way through the Saint-Etienne defence, but loses out to Neyou on the edge of the box. He comes up with a limp after his run is halted.

13' Florenzi skips past Trauco with ease in the right-inside channel and he fires a low cross to the near post. It almost falls for Sarabia, but Green is alert to smother the ball.

12' Trauco takes a touch down the left flank to ease past Florenzi, but he cannot sustain his surge, losing out to Sarabia tracking back.

10' Saint-Etienne have not been able to get the foot on the ball at all in the early stages of the contest. Puel's men are sitting in their shape and are allowing PSG to have posssession.

8' PSG build down the right once more, but Moukoudi rises to clear Florenzi's cross. The home side win the loose ball before Rafinha lines up an ambitious drive from 25 yards that travels wide of the target.

6' Florenzi is played down the right-inside channel by Danilo, but he overhits his delivery into the middle that travels out for a throw-in.

4' PSG keep on the early pressure by winning a second corner in succession, but the visitors are able to clear the danger.

3' Mbappe tries to break behind the Saint-Etienne defence down the left flank, but Moukoudi tracks his run and knocks the ball behind for a corner.

1' We're under way at the Parc des Princes.

PSG have not lost any of their last 15 Ligue 1 games against St Etienne (W10 D5), only against Angers (21) and Brest (18) are they on a longer unbeaten run against current French top-flight sides.

Saint-Etienne have made three changes to their side that beat Bordeaux 4-1 last time out. Trauco gets the start at left-back ahead of Silva, who drops to the bench. Monnet-Paquet and Youssouf come into the middle of the park in place of Aouchiche and Bouanga, who also take their place on the sidelines. 

PSG have made eight changes to the side that was beaten 1-0 by Bayern during the week. Only Mbappe, Kimpembe and Danilo retain their places in the side. Rico ousts Keylor Navas from between the sticks. Florenzi returns at right-back for Pochettino's men, while Kehrer and Bakker also slot into the back four. Herrera partners Danilo in the middle of the park. Sarabia, Rafinha and Kean join Mbappe in the final third. Neymar, Leandro Paredes and Idrissa Gueye are all suspended, while Marquinhos remains sidelined.

SAINT-ETIENNE SUBS: Charles Abi, Gabriel Silva, Adil Aouchiche, Arnaud Nordin, Denis Bouanga, Amien Moueffek, Lucas Gourna Douath, Saidou Sow, Boubacar Fall.

SAINT-ETIENNE (4-1-4-1) Etienne Green; Mathieu Debuchy, Pape Cisse, Harold Moukoudi, Miguel Trauco; Yvan Neyou; Romain Hamouma, Mahdi Camara, Zaydou Youssouf, Kevin Monnet-Paquet; Wahbi Khazri.

PSG SUBS: Marco Verratti, Mauro Icardi, Angel di Maria, Layvin Kurzawa, Julian Draxler, Colin Dagba, Timothee Pembele, Xavi Simons, Denis Franchi.

PSG (4-2-3-1): Sergio Rico; Alessandro Florenzi, Thilo Kehrer, Presnel Kimpembe, Mitchel Bakker, Danilo Pereira, Ander Herrera; Pablo Sarabia, Rafinha, Kylian Mbappe; Moise Kean.

Saint-Etienne recorded back-to-back wins to ease ther relegation worries at the foot of the table. After a 4-0 defeat to Monaco the pressure was on Claude Puel and his team, but they have responded to the threat by beating Nimes and Bordeaux. The club are now nine points clear of the drop zone and can continue a push towards the middle of the table to end the campaign with momentum.

PSG secured their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League during the week despite their 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich. Mauricio Pochettino's men advanced on away goals to keep their European dream alive. However, the club must now turn their attention back to Ligue 1 where their form has been patchy of late. They trail Lille by four points at the top of the table, but can close the gap with a victory this afternoon.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the Ligue 1 clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Saint-Etienne at the Parc des Princes.

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