PLAYER RATINGS | Auxerre 0-0 PSG: Wasteful leaders held to unconvincing stalemate | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 14, 06/12/24

A week after a disappointing home draw against Nantes, PSG dropped points again, this time to Auxerre at Stade Abbé-Deschamps. The visitors were too wasteful and found the impervious Auxerre goalie Donovan Léon in their path.

The Match

PSG had the opportunity to provisionally go 10 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 at promoted side Auxerre. The Yonne team’s 5-4-1 set-up meant Christophe Pélissier had no qualms about relying on counter-attacks like they brilliantly did at Marseille.

The visitors had most of the ball, but their strikers lacked a creative edge to find gaps in Auxerre’s tightly knit unit. What’s more, PSG were all too predictable in their passing patterns. Still, the league leaders wasted some opportunity to break the deadlock. Portugal international centre-forward Gonçalo Ramos smashed a powerful header under the crossbar but Donovan Leon came to the rescue, and it won’t be the first time in the evening.

Fabian Ruiz thought he had opened the scoring, tapping in from close range Bradley Barcola’s intricate pass. But the France international was rightfully flagged for offside. Auxerre then had Leon to thank for a remarkable point-blank save in front of PSG left-back Nuno Mendes.

On their end, Auxerre showed exactly why Abbé-Deschamps was a tough ground to go to, displaying the directness and defensive discipline that put them in the top half of the Ligue 1 standings. In the second half, PSG ramped up the pressure and played with more urgency, stretching Auxerre’s defense thin.

Vitinha came close to finding the opener as his curling effort could only find Leon’s crossbar. Despite Luis Enrique’s changes in personnel with Ousmane Dembélé, Randal Kolo Muani, Marco Asensio and Désiré Doué all coming on, PSG could not find a way past Léon. The former Brest goalkeeper was the game’s stand-out performer with 11 saves, two of them deep in injury time, denying Kolo Muani and Doué a winning goal.

PSG’s focus now turns to their make-or-break Champions League Matchday 6 against RB Salzburg.

PSG player ratings

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 6

Achraf Hakimi – 6

Marquinhos – 5

William Pacho – 4

Nuno Mendes – 4

Warren Zaïre-Emery – 4

Vitinha – 5

Fabian Ruiz – 5

Kang-in Lee – 4

Gonçalo Ramos – 4

The Portugal international is struggling for pace after returning from injury. He had very little influence upfront and wasted the sole goalscoring opportunity that came his way.

Bradley Barcola – 3

The Lyon Academy graduate is deep in a slump at PSG, making little difference on his left flank and losing most of his duels.

Selected Auxerre player ratings

Donovan Léon – 8

The 32-year-old goalie was impeccable throughout and produced some outstanding saves to preserve Auxerre’s point. He came up big in the dying stages with back-to-back saves against Randal Kolo Muani and Désiré Doué.

Kevin Danois – 6

Jubal – 6

GFFN | Bastien Cheval