Paris Saint-Germain Player Ratings vs Lyon: 9/10 for Messi; Neymar, Ramos excellent

Paris Saint-Germain continued their impressive start to the Ligue 1 season with a narrow 1-0 victory over Lyon at the Groupama Stadium.

Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the game as Christophe Galtier’s side secured the all-important three points to extend their lead at the top of the table. 

The Argentine international has been in red-hot form in recent weeks, and he handed his side the lead just five minutes into the contest. The visitors managed to defend their advantage admirably for the remainder of the game, and Lyon will be disappointed to have come away empty-handed.

PSG have now picked up seven wins and a draw from their eight league matches so far, and they are two points clear of second-placed Marseille. Meanwhile, Lyon have now crashed to three successive defeats in the Ligue 1, and they are currently sixth in the league table with just 13 points from eight matches.

The home side did manage to put up a fight against the French champions on Sunday night, but PSG had that extra bit of quality in the final third that made all the difference in the end. Here at The Hard Tackle, we look at how the PSG players fared on Sunday night.

Gianluigi Donnarumma: 7/10

The Italian goalkeeper was put under pressure by the home side in the first half, and he stood up to the challenge admirably. Donnarumma produced a couple of important saves to deny the home side, and he was accurate with his distribution from the back as well.

Sergio Ramos: 8/10

The experienced Spanish defender seemed imperious at the back on the night, and he did well to contain the Lyon attackers throughout the game. Ramos seemed unbeatable in the air, and he was strong in the tackles.

Marquinhos: 8/10

Much like Ramos, the Brazilian had an excellent outing as well. Marquinhos was impressive with his positioning and tackling throughout the game. The PSG captain tried to create opportunities for his teammates with line-breaking passes from the deep as well.

Danilo Pereira: 7/10

PSG were defensively well organised and reliable on the night, and Pereira was no different. He seems to have adapted to his role in a back three with ease and produced a tidy performance at the back.

Achraf Hakimi: 6/10

The technically gifted wing-back has not been at his best in his recent outings, and this was another dull performance from him. Although Hakimi bombed forward time and again, he failed to create any meaningful chances for his teammates.

Fabian Ruiz: 6.5/10

The Spanish midfielder had a decent outing against Lyon. Ruiz kept the play ticking for PSG with his short and accurate passing.

Marco Verratti: 7/10

The Italian international was undoubtedly the pick of the midfielders for PSG on the night. Verratti was composed with the ball at his feet and helped drive the team forward. He was exceptionally accurate with his passing as well and ended the game with a passing accuracy of 96%.

Nuno Mendes: 6/10

Another wing-back who had a rather uneventful game on the night. PSG were exceptionally well organised at the back, and that allowed the likes of Hakimi and Mendes to charge forward on a regular basis. However, much like the Moroccan, Mendes struggled to influence the game in the attacking third.

Lionel Messi: 9/10

Undoubtedly the best player on the pitch against Lyon. The Argentine opened the scoring just five minutes into the game and could have added to his tally just a few minutes later. Messi created all sorts of problems for the home side with this movement and creativity in the final third.

Neymar: 8/10

The Brazilian international had an impressive outing for PSG, although he failed to get on the scoresheet. Neymar created the opening goal for Messi and caused problems for the home side with his flair and agility.

Kylian Mbappe: 6.5/10

The French attacker had a quiet outing by his usual high standards. And although Mbappe had a number of efforts, he failed to find his finishing touch.

SUBSTITUTES

Vitinha: 6/10

Fabian Ruiz was preferred as a starter against Lyon as Galtier chose to rotate his squad to keep the players fresh. Vitinha came on around the hour mark and did reasonably well. 

Nordi Mukiele: 5/10

Mukiele came on to replace Verratti after the Italian international picked up a knock. He barely had any meaningful contribution in the game.

Carlos Soler: N/A

Came on too late to make any worthwhile contribution.