Olympique Lyonnais Manager Claude Puel Thankful For Point Against PSG

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Ligue 1 : Claude Puel (Lyon)

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• O. Lyon
• PSG

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• Claude Puel
• Hugo Lloris

Olympique Lyonnais seemed destined to crash to their first defeat of the Ligue 1 campaign on Sunday evening as they trailed a stubborn Paris Saint-Germain side 1-0 late on, but les Gones’ late equaliser pleased general manager Claude Puel, who was delighted his side snatched a late point.

Ludovic Giuly had tapped PSG ahead in the first half, deviating Guillaume Hoarau’s mis-hit shot into the net from close range. In truth, the home team had looked pretty comfortable repelling the waves of Lyon attacks thereafter. But les Parisiens cracked in the closing minutes, allowing Bafetimbi Gomis to force the ball in from a similarly short distance, though the former Saint-Etienne man looked to be offside.

“Given the configuration of the game, it is a very good point,” Puel mused to the AFP news agency after the fixture.

“For us, it was important to keep a good momentum and avoid defeat.”

One man who particularly pleased the former Lille boss was goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who made a series of fine saves to deny the hosts.

“We did not let go - Hugo made saves from several attempts, which allowed us to stay within reach of Paris and be more dominant in the second half," said Puel.

“PSG left the ball but are very good at countering. When they are ahead in the score, they are difficult to move - hence the merit in us coming back. It’s a credit to the whole squad, including the contribution of the substitutes, who brought freshness and allowed us to take the ascendancy on this team,” he added.

The drawn game leaves OL second in the standings, two points behind champions Girondins de Bordeaux, who have only dropped a couple of points in their six games so far this season.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com