Brazilian superstar Neymar made his return for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as the defending French champions defeated Lille 2-0 on Friday at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Friday. With the win, the Parisians have also extended their lead at the top by 11 points.
Riding on the first-half goals from the Argentine duo of Mauro Icardi and Angel Di Maria, the hosts registered a regulation win over their seventh-placed opponent.
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Neymar, who was playing his first match for PSG since October 5 due to a hamstring problem, was also impressive with the ball and delighted the home crowd with some of his trademark skills.
Icardi opened the scoring for the night when he received a low cross from Idrissa Gueye in the 17th minute. Lille defender Jose Fonte tried to cut the ball but failed as Icardi got it before him and sent it to the back of the net with an easy tap-in for his 10th goal of the season.
The 26-year-old Argentine sustained the faith that PSG coach Thomas Tuchel had entrusted on him by giving him the start ahead of Edinson Cavani. Tuchel did not give Kylian Mabappe the start as well due to an illness.
The second was netted by Di Maria when Julian Draxler found him open inside the Lille box. The Argentine midfielder produced a lofted shot over goalkeeper Mike Maignan to make it 2-0 for the home team.
The second half was dominated by PSG as well but they failed to bring any further change in the scoreline.
Draxler came close to score the third of the night but failed as he hit the ball over Lille’s woods. Cavani, after being brought in, wasted a genuine chance by scooping a finish over the bar in added time.
PSG next travel to Madrid to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday. Lille, on the other hand, will host last year’s semi-finalist Ajax Amsterdam the next day.
