Jimmy Briand has been nothing more than a bit-part player under Vladimir Petkovic at Bordeaux this term, but when Les Girondins needed the 36-year-old to deliver against Reims on matchday 12, he sure did deliver.
Hugo Ekitike and Bradley Locko sent a youthful Reims side two goals to the good just after the hour mark, but Yacine Adli havled the deficit before Briand turned the game on its head with two goals as a substitute – his second coming from the spot in the fifth minute of second-half injury time.
A win in gameweek six and win in gameweek 12 represents Bordeaux’s only two triumphs of the Ligue 1 season, though, and while they appear to have developed a more resilient nature in recent weeks, they remain 16th in the table and are just three points clear of the bottom three.
Les Girondins have only lost one of their last seven in Ligue 1 before the visit of PSG – with four of those encounters ending with the spoils shared – but 24 goals conceded is the third-highest tally in the division and is there to be exploited by Pochettino’s rampant crop.
It was not pretty, and they had to come from behind in front of their own fans following Jonathan David’s opening goal for Lille, but PSG ultimately got the job done against the reigning champions thanks to their South American superstars.
Pochettino’s side seemed destined to be heading for defeat until Marquinhos levelled the scores, and with 88 minutes of the contest played, Angel Di Maria combined brilliantly with Neymar before coolly finishing into the bottom corner to hand his side maximum points.
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However, Les Parisiens were undone by a late Dominik Szoboszlai penalty during a 2-2 Champions League draw with RB Leipzig – as Georginio Wijnaldum’s brace was not enough to get PSG over the line – and some have questioned whether the capital giants truly look like a well-oiled machine under Pochettino.
The Argentine is getting results when it matters in Ligue 1, though, with his side now eight points clear of second-placed Nice at the summit and boasting a league-high tally of 26 goals, although the two games they have dropped points in so far both came away from home.
PSG travel to the Matmut Atlantique unbeaten in 13 games across all competitions with Bordeaux – prevailing 1-0 in this fixture after a 2-2 draw at the Parc des Princes last term – and the visitors have not failed to score against Les Girondins since 2012.
