A lively start from both sides saw early chances at each end, and only PSG’s Maghnes Akliouche will know how he missed an absolute sitter when he fired wide with the goal gaping.
The visitors soon began to put incessant pressure on the Strasbourg back four, who were indebted to Filip Jorgensen after his point-blank save from Ferran Torres’ towering header.
Against the run of play, the hosts took the lead in the 17th minute as Giovanni Reyna beat Matvey Safonov at his near post with a low shot.
By the half-hour mark, both teams had each had six efforts at goal, though only three in total were on target. Fabio Balde should certainly have done better than dragging his shot right across goal when well placed.
The match began to swing from end to end, and even if the quality of the finishing wasn’t up to the standard expected, it was still an absorbing watch. As half-time approached, PSG had seen 78.4% of the ball in the preceding 15 minutes, and yet were still unable to make that dominance count.
PSG were on the front foot as soon as the whistle blew to start the second half, though Strasbourg’s defence, and Pape Diop in particular, held firm against the onslaught.
A stunning one-handed save down to his left from Safonov kept out Conrad Harder’s goal-bound header, and that gave his side the impetus to take the game to their hosts. With an hour played, however, they still hadn’t managed to beat Jorgensen.
Strasbourg were close to extending their lead again when Gessime Yassine, Harder and Jeyland Mitchell all worked Safonov in quick succession, but with 20 minutes to play, PSG were handed a lifeline when VAR picked up on a handball from Diop.
Second-half substitute Ousmane Dembele squandered the opportunity when he inexplicably dragged the ball wide of Jorgensen’s right-hand post.
Dembele soon made amends when his pinpoint cross found an unmarked Illia Zabarnyi to tap in the equaliser, and then the current Ballon d’Or winner drilled home a late second before Desire Doue made the game safe in stoppage time with an easy finish.
The result means that Strasbourg still haven’t kept a clean sheet in 26 head-to-head encounters (W2, D6, L18), whilst PSG head into their Champions League fixture with Barcelona after making life very difficult for themselves.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Illia Zabarnyi (Paris Saint-Germain)