While demonstrators clash with police on the streets of Paris and the world's football elite enjoy the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais had to play their match in the eighth round of Ligue 1, the biggest fixture of the French league weekend. The match was originally scheduled for Sunday but was postponed until the following day for security reasons amid the mass protests. Whether that affected the players' concentration or their minds were elsewhere, both sides produced a very poor performance. The hosts, however, did just enough to claim three points and secure their eighth consecutive victory in all competitions. Goals from Senny Mayulu in the 72nd minute and Mika Godts in the 84th gave the two-time reigning European champions a 2–0 victory and sent them to the top of Ligue 1.
Lyon remain joint third with Monaco. Both teams are two points behind Paris Saint-Germain and one behind Rennes. Having paid a heavy price for their 4–2 victory over Barcelona, Luis Enrique had to make several changes for tonight's match. As many as three players were injured during that Champions League encounter, meaning he could not call upon captain Marquinhos or the outstanding Ousmane Dembélé, who travelled to London to present last year's Ballon d'Or to this year's winner. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will be sidelined until the end of the season, while Nuno Mendes was once again unavailable tonight. PSG, however, have a deep enough squad to compensate adequately for these absences.
Senny Mayulu and Mika Godts proved exactly that. Both came off the bench alongside Lucas Hernández around ten minutes after the teams returned from half-time, and their superb strikes from the edge of the penalty area secured the victory for Paris Saint-Germain. The margin could have been even greater had the hosts been more clinical in front of goal, particularly in the first half. The second half was largely uneventful until the goals, while Matvey Safonov dealt successfully with every remotely serious attempt from the visitors.##NAJAVA_MECA_10067441##