Ligue 1 Top Five, Round 14: PSG and Bordeaux rule the roost
PSG returned from the international break to defeat Lille 2-0, but the scoreline suggests it was more comfortable than it was, as Navas was called into action to make eight saves on Friday night, including one incredible stop to deny Xeka's strike towards the corner early on. In addition to the eight saves, he made seven ball interceptions from crosses into the area, and misplaced just four passes playing out from the back.
For around 70 minutes, Marseille struggled to break down the sturdy Toulouse defence, with only a potential set-piece delivery from Payet looking the most likely route to the opening goal. Eventually, the breakthrough did come thanks to Payet, but it wasn't from a set-piece, but rather a gorgeous defence-splitting pass through the middle for Dario Benedetto to round the keeper to score. He sent 34 passes into the final third, made seven ball recoveries, and had 95 touches overall.
De Preville's prowess from dead balls was key for Bordeaux's comeback against Monaco, as he initially set up the equaliser with a curled corner-kick high into the box for Pablo to nod into the net, before making it 2-1 with a coolly taken penalty into the bottom left corner. He was vital in providing width to the home side, too, as he could constantly be found drifting out to the touchline, where he sent seven successful crosses into the box. He was also combative in midfield, winning 14/18 duels.
Although certainly a fringe player with PSG these days, Draxler can still prove his effectiveness for the Parisiens, like he did in the win over Lille. He assisted the second goal for Angel Di Maria with a cute pass in to the right of the box for the Argentine to whip a strike into the far corner. He worked hard for the team, too, making seven ball recoveries and three interceptions, as well as misplacing just four out of 61 attempted passes.
Pablo got Bordeaux back into contention with a towering header to equalise against Monaco, but was just as effective in his bread and butter duties at the back. Even though he wasn't involved in any tackling, he was dominant in every other area, winning 6/7 duels and 6/6 aerial duels. His passing was very impressive, too, as his completion rate of 94% came from 44 completed balls to team-mates.
HONOURABLE MENTION
Idrissa Gueye (8) added to his always-dependable defensive duties by recording an assist for Mauro Icardi to open the scoring for PSG. He made eight ball recoveries on the day and won the majority of his duels.
ROUND TO FORGET
Amiens are now just two points adrift of the dropzone after two consecutive losses, with the latest defeat coming against Strasbourg in a 4-0 defeat at home. Bakaye Dibassy (5.2) didn't help his team's cause as he won zero tackles, zero aerial duels, and lost possession 10 times.