PSG vs Lyon suspended for offensive chanting – as captain Achraf Hakimi pleads with home fans to stop before running out 3-1 winners

Paris Saint-Germain captain Achraf Hakimi was forced to appeal to his team’s fanatical fans to stop anti-Lyon chants after the Ligue 1 clash between the two sides was suspended.

Early in the second half at the Parc des Princes, referee Benoit Bastien stopped the match as the home supporters abused their opponents’ supporters.

In French football’s top division this season, there are new rules to crack down on discriminatory chants, which is why Bastien stepped in.

With the game in danger of being called off or suspended indefinitely, defender Hakimi ran behind his team’s goal at half-time to try to appease the PSG loyalists.

It eventually succeeded, but only after a considerable stop. In the end, Luis Enrique’s men did enough to earn a 3-1 victory to keep them at the top of the table.

PSG are now seven points clear at the summit and are yet to lose in the league this season.

Having seen his Manchester City side slip to an eighth defeat in 11 games in all competitions following a derby loss to arch-rivals Manchester United, Pep Guardiola’s focus was unlikely to be on the Parc des Princes on Sunday night.

Had it been, the City boss would have been given a stark reminder of the potential for more pain on the horizon early in 2025, but also of the quality of a possible future Premier League star in Lyon’s Rayan Cherki.

City will face PSG in the French capital on January 22 with their Champions League qualification hopes in serious doubt. For the first time, Guardiola’s men are truly in real trouble under his trophy-laden leadership. Their 2-1 defeat to United was the latest blow.

Across the Channel, and just hours after the final whistle at The Etihad, PSG were just making their mark as leaders of Ligue 1.

Gone are superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. This is a different PSG.

But while it’s undoubtedly not as good individually as previous Parisian outfits – and certainly contains less stardust – it’s perhaps a better collective outfit despite the dominance of youth.

They were deserved winners over a Lyon side which featured the highly-rated Cherki – who remains of interest to Premier League sides including Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal, West Ham, Newcastle, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. PSG are also monitoring Cherki, as are Germans Borussia Dortmund.

Former Palace man Wilfried Zaha, now with Lyon after a summer move from Turkish side Galatasaray, was again absent. Zaha has been completely frozen out by Lyon while on loan in France and will certainly be of interest to Premier League sides in the January transfer window.

Lyon continue to battle serious financial problems – which could yet see them relegated from Ligue 1 – so they are likely to be open to selling Cherki if the price is right.

Cherki was anonymous as PSG swept into a 2-0 lead inside 14 minutes.

Ousmane Dembele had a simple finish for the opener before Vitinha’s penalty made it a double. Desire Doue did brilliantly for both goals, running free to assist Dembele and then being brought down to allow Vitinha to slot home from the spot in the coolest way.

But as his side slowly gained a foothold with former United and Chelsea man Nemanja Matic anchoring the midfield and former Arsenal defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles at right-back, Cherki grew into the game. His skills were evident, his touches silky smooth.

Out of nowhere he produced a wonderful pass to set up Georgian Georges Mikautadze.

Cherki drew PSG defenders to him like a moth to a flame before unleashing his assist.

Doue had an incredible finish ruled out for offside at the start of the second half before the crowd trouble began. PSG’s fans gave in to Hakimi’s wishes, but only after signing further chants indicating they cared little for the referee’s views.

Cherki was surprisingly withdrawn just after the hour mark in favor of former Brentford and West Ham man Said Benrahma. He is not yet the finished product, far from it actually.

But his ability will surely see him playing at a higher level in the future, even if Lyon were defeated here.

Goncalo Ramos’ late finish on a counter-attack made the points safe for PSG, whose supporters resumed their abusive chants towards the end of the match.