Division 1 Féminine Week 9 Review: PSG remain unbeaten after a second-half comeback

The would-be challengers for the league title put in an inspired second half performance to stay in touch with league leaders Olympique Lyonnais and keep Olympique de Marseille rooted at the bottom of the standings.

Division 1 Féminine Week 9 Review: PSG remain unbeaten after a second-half comeback
Kadidiatou Diani was in sparkling form for PSG against Marseille | Source: psg.fr
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By Kudzi Musarurwa

Division 1 Féminine saw one more round of matches before the league breaks for the various international qualifiers and friendlies that many of the players will be involved in.

This weekend, Paris Saint-Germain were the talk of the league after scoring five goals against Olympique de Marseille in the second half to gain the win and stay close to the top of the league. Their rivals, Olympique Lyonnais had no trouble dispatching newcomers Fleury 91 and remain at the top of the first division going into the international break.

Marseille 2 - 5 PSG

​The home side started off the so-called "Classico" brilliantly considering their form leading into this game against one of Europe's giants. Viviane Asseyi opened the scoring with a goal in the 31st minute and Maelle Lakrar made it two six minutes later.

Marseille had started the brighter of the two teams while PSG looked like they were still in the locker rooms during that first half. Whatever Patrice Lair said to his side during half-time worked its magic as the Parisiennes showed their quality. 

Eve Perisset set the ball rolling with her goal in the 51st minute and then Kadidiatou Diani levelled things up in the 54th minute with a great little lob over the goalkeeper.

Potential superstar Marie-Antoinette Katoto then came to the fore and picked up a hat trick to seal all three points for PSG. Her first came in the 67th minute when she headed home from a corner kick and then she scored her second in the 68th minute with a clean finish inside the box.

Her third came from an assist by Diani and she volleyed home in the 81st minute and finished off a remarkable comeback by the away side. Things got even worse for Marseille when Cissoko picked up a red card in the 83rd minute thus ruling her out of the next fixture.

Lair felt that after their defensive lapses in the first half, the team "set their goal at the break" and used a change in tactics to get the win.

The victory keeps them two points off current champions OL and sets them up nicely for when the league returns to action in two weeks time. Marseille on the other hand, will look back at this game as an example of how badly this season has gone for them.

After leading with two goals, they lost their composure during the second half and allowed Katoto and PSG to run rampant against them. This is why they currently sit at the bottom of the division and are seemingly on their way towards relegation if something doesn't change quickly.

OL 5 - 0 Fleury 91

Olympique Lyonnais were not particularly concerned by the result in Marseille and went on to carry out business as usual. A dominant 5-0 win over Fleury 91 kept them on top of the first division and sent out a message to the rest of the league that it would take a massive performance to hand OL their first defeat of the season. 

Dzsenifer Marozsán scored the only goal of the first half in the 34th minute when a corner was headed to her and she volleyed it in. Ada Hegerberg made it two in the 48th minute after Amel Majri picked her out with a great cross into the box and Saki Kumagai made it three in the 67th minute from the penalty spot. 

Eugénie Le Sommer kept her goal-scoring streak going with the fourth in the 75th minute thanks to another assist by Majri and Delphine Cascarino made it five in the 84th minute.

Lyon have now gone five matches without conceding and have won their last 20 matches in the league. Their form has seen them pick up where they left off last season and keeps them above the rest of the league with a huge goal difference as well.

Fleury were no match for OL today and are finding things difficult in their first season in the top flight. They've only managed one win in nine, losing the rest of the games they have played and currently sit in the relegation zone.

Montpellier 4 - 1 Bordeaux

Stina Blackstenius in action for Montpellier | Source: mhscfoot.com
Stina Blackstenius in action for Montpellier | Source: mhscfoot.com

Montpellier HSC bounced back from their loss last week to PSG by putting in a good performance against FC Girondins de BordeauxSofia Jakobsson, who is fully recovered from her long stretch out due to injury, converted a penalty in the 22nd minute to kick things off for the home side.

Jakobsson added her second in the 29th minute after being picked out by Stina Blackstenius. Blackstenius got herself on the scoresheet in the 32nd minute as she headed home a free kick and Ghoutia Karchouni pulled one back for Bordeaux with a fantastic free kick in the 43rd minute. Jakobsson finished then off her hat trick in stoppage time after some good build up play.

Montpellier move up to third, eight points off of OL and four points away from PSG. After faltering against PSG last week, this will come as a welcome performance by the home side as they look to return to the UEFA Women's Champions League spots over the course of the next few months.

Bordeaux knew it would be tough against Montpellier but they will be disappointed with how easily the home side got by their defense in the first half, considering how well they had performed in the league up until this point.

Bordeaux stay in fifth place and will look to try and bounce back after the international break.

Paris FC 2 - 1 Soyaux

ASJ Soyaux succumbed to their fourth match without a win as they down to a 2-1 loss against Paris FCClara Matéo met Gaëtane Thiney's corner in the 56th minute at the far post to give the hosts the lead early in the second half. 

Mathilde Bourdieu then stole the ball from Elba Verges in the 66th minute and proceeded to round the goalkeeper before firing into the empty net. 

Laura Bourgouin was found unmarked from a long throw in the 74th minute to pick up a consolation goal for Soyaux but that was all the visitors could do to try and find at least a draw from this game.

Paris FC picked up another win this week | Source: parisfootballclub.com
Paris FC picked up another win this week | Source: parisfootballclub.com

Paris FC stay in fourth despite the win but they will feel that they are close enough to the top three teams to still pose a threat as the season goes on. Soyaux also stay in the same position, sixth, after the loss but will want to fix their form as soon as possible to stop themselves from being dragged into the relegation battle.

Guingamp 1 - 0 Lille

EA Guingamp only managed one goal against Lille OSC but it was enough to get them the three points at home. Faustine Roberts picked up the game-winning goal in the 38th minute and neither side was able to add to the scoresheet after that.

The win moves Guingamp above Lille into seventh but only one point separates the two teams after this result.

For a newly promoted side, Lille are doing well so far but without a win in their last three matches, they will look to use the international break to fix a few things and come back into league action ready to win again.

Rodez 0 - 0 Albi

There was not much to see between Rodez AF and ASPTT Albi as their matchup ended in a 0-0 draw. It was not a result that neither side wanted but Albi will go home the happier of the two sides.

The away team kept their defense tight and allowed very few opportunities to fall Rodez' way.

Both teams stay out of the relegation zone but with only five and four points respectively keeping them away from the bottom two teams, they are both in danger of slipping low down the table if their current form continues.