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PARIS (AP) — While Nicolas Pépé awaits his first goal since joining Arsenal for a club-record fee , his former team Lille has found another scoring talent in Victor Osimhen.The 20-year-old Nigerian has scored five goals in five league games so far, helping Lille fans to forget Pépé’s departure for a reported 80 million euros ($89 million) after he netted 22 league goals to help Lille qualify for the Champions League.Osimhen was signed for 12 million euros ($13.3 million) from Belgian club Charleroi, and on current market and re-sale value that looks like a bargain.Quick, tall, strong and a powerful runner, he is ideally suited to Lille’s rapid counter-attacking style — as was Pépé before him.Osimhen’s ability to play back to goal, often using his chest to expertly take down long balls and allied to quick turns inside the penalty area, make him very difficult for opposition defenders to mark. Furthermore, he shoots well with both feet.He has slotted in seamlessly in a team which has other young talents in attack. Not least the 21-year-old Jonathan Ikoné, a quick and skillful player who scored on his France debut and set up another goal in the next match during the recent international break.Ikoné grew up in the same Paris suburb as Kylian Mbappé — they are friends from their days living in Bondy.Ikoné netted only three times last season as Pépé did most of the scoring, but now Ikoné can take up a far greater role in attack.So too can Luiz Araujo, a Brazilian forward with pace, skill and passing ability in abundance.He showed this in Friday night’s 2-1 home win against Angers , starting the move which led to Osimhen’s goal with a brilliant turn and sprint from the halfway line after controlling a long pass with opponents on his back.“Last season his path was barred by Nicolas (Pépé). He’s gained in maturity,” Lille coach Christophe Galtier said. “I sensed it was the right moment for him to express himself. The team needs Luiz.”Waiting in the wings at Lille is 19-year-old Timothy Weah — the son of Liberia President and former PSG and AC Milan striker George Weah.LEAKY LYONAfter scoring nine goals in two opening wins many observers were talking up Lyon’s prolific attack.But while forwards Memphis Depay and Moussa Dembélé shared the headlines, the Lyon defense had yet to be tested.It has been now and the result is Lyon collecting only two points from the past three games — losing one and twice conceding leads to draw the match.Friday’s 2-2 draw at Amiens, which equalized in injury time following a hurried Lyon clearance, exposed deficiencies in Lyon’s defense.Imposing Danish defender Joachim Andersen — signed from Italian side Sampdoria for 30 million euros — was too often caught out of position and passed the ball out poorly from the back. Yet he did not get nearly enough protection from midfield.Lyon’s lineup looked split in two, with the midfield and fullbacks pushing up constantly to support the forwards and leaving huge gaps for the center halves to cover.Jeff Reine-Adélaïde set up one of the goals for Dembélé but, just like fellow midfielder Houssem Aouar, he did not track back enough.Lyon’s new coach Sylvinho — a former left back with Arsenal and Spanish giant Barcelona — will hope for very quick improvement from his players.They face Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League on Tuesday, followed by French champion Paris Saint-Germain at home on Sunday. Amid loud jeers and insulting banners from his own fans, Neymar scored a stunning bicycle kick during injury time for French league leader Paris Saint-Germain to beat Strasbourg 1-0 on Saturday.Neymar met Abdou Diallo’s left-wing cross as it drifted behind him, brilliantly hooking it in with his left foot as he was falling backward. Even as Neymar celebrated, PSG ultras behind the goal where he scored still jeered him.He angered those fans with his public desire to rejoin former club Barcelona in the offseason. The forward, who scored for Brazil last week , sat out four league games as he tried to force a move back but talks broke down.“I stayed calm. We all know what happened; I understand that it’s very difficult for them,” Neymar said. “But as from now I am a PSG player. If they want to whistle me, no problem.”Two offensive banners insulting Neymar and his father who has also represented him in transfer talks were also deployed at Parc des Princes. One of those referenced Neymar’s reported willingness to spend 20 million euros ($22 million) of his own money to push through the deal, which would reunite him with his friend and former teammate Lionel Messi.Neymar thought he scored a second goal with seconds left, but Angel Di Maria was ruled offside before squaring to give him a tap-in.Aside from the spectacular goal, it was mostly a rough afternoon for Neymar.Some fans whistled and made offensive hand gestures when he ran out onto the field for the pre-match warmup. Then, when Neymar’s name was read out over the loudspeaker as the teams were announced, PSG’s ultras jeered loudly.His first few touches of the ball were also met with loud boos. He was loudly whistled when he took a first-half corner and jeered again after trying an audacious lob over the goalkeeper from far out. The vitriol from PSG ultras behind the goal continued in the second half, although other sections of the crowd cheered him.“It wasn’t easy because he’s a very sensitive person,” PSG coach Thomas Tuchel said. “It wasn’t either for the fans during the transfer window, and for that reason we have to accept their reaction … That’s the way it is.”Neymar was asked if he had a message for the ultras.“No, nothing. I just want to thank my teammates for allowing me to score this goal,” he said in comments translated to French. “The other players don’t deserve to put up with this situation. When the fans are behind the team , we are stronger together.”It was his sheer determination to leave the club, along with an interview recounting how much he enjoyed playing in Barca’s 6-1 humiliation of PSG in the Champions League in 2017, which led to hostile chanting against him by PSG ultras in a home game last month.One banner held aloft during that game urged him to “Get Lost.”Neymar faced Strasbourg again, having been injured when the teams met in a physical French Cup match in January.Meanwhile, goalkeeper Keylor Navas made his PSG debut after joining on a long-term contract from Real Madrid.He made a crucial save in the 18th, diving low to his left to stop Ludovic Ajorque’s stinging shot reaching the bottom corner, and denied the striker again with 15 minutes left.Striker Mauro Icardi, who joined PSG on a season loan from Inter Milan, came off the bench in the second half.PSG is two points ahead of second-place Rennes, which drew at Brest 0-0.Bordeaux beat Metz 2-0 at home, both goals inside the first 10 minutes.Montpellier won 2-1 at home win against Nice.Bottom side Dijon picked up its first point in a 0-0 home draw with Nimes.Lyon drew at Amiens 2-2 on Friday.
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