Cabaye off in stalemate

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:32 am
Yohan Cabaye is given his marching orders.
JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP/Getty Images

Paris St Germain survived the second-half dismissal of Yohan Cabaye to hold Evian to a goalless draw at the Parc des Sports.

Missing injured star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the defending Ligue 1 champions lacked sharpness up front and a 64th-minute red card for France midfielder Cabaye could have proved costly.

However, Evian were unable to make the most of their advantage to ensure PSG remain unbeaten after three matches this season.

The absence of Ibrahimovic to a back injury seemed to unsettle Laurent Blanc's side, who needed 23 minutes to produce their first meaningful attempt on goal, with Edinson Cavani curling a 20-yard free-kick inches over the crossbar.

Daniel Wass replied with a free-kick for Evian which tested the skills of visiting goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, but it was PSG who should have gone ahead minutes later when Lucas freed Cavani for a first-time shot which had Jesper Hansen scrambling to clear the ball.

Lucas came even closer to breaking the deadlock for the champions early in the second half, controlling a long ball from Javier Pastore before firing a low right-footed shot which brushed the post on its way past the net.

Cabaye then paid the price for a clumsy challenge on Fabien Camus which earned him a second yellow card, although PSG pushed forward eight minutes later with David Luiz deflecting a ball into the path of team-mate Cavani for a volley which had to be punched clear by Hansen.

Tiredness then kicked into Blanc's squad allowing Evian the chance to snatch the points.

It was a chance they failed to grasp, however, as Wass saw another free-kick headed off the line by Pastore after 79 minutes, while Cedric Barbosa's magnificent stoppage-time ball to Nicolas Benezet laid the foundations for a stunning volley which was bettered only by a diving save from Sirigu to leave Evian still searching for their first win.