Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar celebrates with team mates after the match REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
PARIS (Reuters) - Paris St Germain needed two own goals by Marcelo and Jeremy Morel to beat Olympique Lyonnais 2-0 at home and stretch their Ligue 1 lead to three points on Sunday.
Defenders Marcelo and Morel turned strikes by Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe into their own net in the 75th and 86th minutes respectively, as PSG maintained their perfect record after six league games.
PSG lead champions Monaco, who beat Strasbourg 3-0 on Saturday, by three points. Lyon slipped down to fifth on 11 points.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar celebrates with team mates after the match REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
"It was a complicated game against a good team but we showed we could do great things together," said Mbappe, who joined from Monaco this season.
"I enjoy it a lot here, I learn a lot, I still have to improve."
The game marked the first time that none of the members of the 'MNC' (Mbappe, Neymar, Cavani) found the back of the net as Lyon proved a tough nut to crack.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe applauds after the match REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Holding midfielder Tanguy Ndombele was a wall the PSG midfielders and forwards struggled to pierce and the capital side broke the deadlock shortly after the 20-year-old was substituted.
Giovani Lo Celso, who had just replaced the disappointing Julian Draxler, beat Kenny Tete on the left flank and found Cavani with a low cross.
The Uruguayan's back heel was deflected into his own net by Marcelo as PSG took a deserved lead.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Lyon's Nabil Fekir and Bertrand Traore after the match REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Five minutes later, PSG were awarded a penalty after Ferland Mendy brought down Mbappe. As Cavani was about to take the spot kick, Neymar came to him and appeared to ask to take it. Cavani refused and his powerful shot was deflected on to the bar by keeper Anthony Lopes.
PSG rounded it off four minutes from time when Mbappe collected a nice, defence-splitting pass from Neymar and Lopes's save bounced off Morel and into the net.
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar and Kylian Mbappe celebrate after Lyon's Jeremy Morel scored an own goal and their second goal REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Clare Fallon)
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Benoit TessierSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Layvin Kurzawa in action with Lyon's Kenny Tete REUTERS/Benoit TessierSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates after Lyon's Jeremy Morel scored an own goal and their second goal REUTERS/Benoit TessierSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Dani Alves and Kylian Mbappe celebrate after Lyon's Jeremy Morel scored an own goal and their second goal REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesSoccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais - The Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 17, 2017 Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
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