Mauricio Pochettino’s first game was on Wednesday against Saint-Etienne. Paris Saint-Germain was held to a 1-1 Ligue 1 draw as the French champions struggled to count their ball possession.
In the first half, Moise Kean canceled out the opener of Romain Hamouma. But PSG was unable to find the net again as they let Lyon, open up a gap of three points at the top of the table.
When Hamouma fired home first. Idrissa Gueye had been dispossessed in front of the field and Saint Etienne took the lead in the 19th minute.
After a clever deflection by Marco Verratti from Kylian Mbappe’s cross, Kean equalized three minutes later. PSG enjoyed almost 70% of possession but lacked endurance and inspiration in the absence of Neymar. He is still recovering from an ankle injury, while Mbappe had yet another match to forget.
Verratti, highly placed as a playmaker on the pitch, was crucial to the target of PSG. But in a poor display by the French champions, the Italian midfielder was otherwise as uninspired as the rest of the squad.
PSG, however, moved up to second on 36 points from 18 games. They leapfrogged Lille on goal difference after the northerners slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home against Angers.
