The Auteuil Stand had its say long before anyone scored. A huge banner reading “Kvara, the red and blue people are with you” was unfurled before kickoff on Monday, six days after the Georgian ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in PSG’s 4-2 Champions League win over Barcelona.
By the end of the night, Senny Mayulu had struck in the 72nd minute and Mika Godts in the 84th to see off Olympique Lyonnais 2-0 at the Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 Matchday 8. Both goals came from substitutes.
Luis Enrique did not wait to make the night about his missing winger.
“It’s a very important win and we dedicate it to Kvara,” the PSG head coach told PSG TV after the match.
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Mayulu and Godts step up
Mayulu, exchanging passes with Godts down the left before finishing low into the corner, broke a stubborn Lyon side that had defended deep for more than an hour. Godts added the second from the edge of the area twelve minutes later, driving a shot into the far corner.
The young Belgian had only recently arrived at the club, and Enrique singled him out at the press briefing covered by Paris Fans, saying Godts “really needed this goal.” Quentin Ndjantou, Beraldo and Lucas Hernández also drew praise for stepping into a team shorn of three key names.
The result lifted PSG above Rennes at the top of Ligue 1 by a single point. It was a fifth straight league win.
Three forwards gone in one night
The dedication to Kvaratskhelia carries weight because the Georgia international is not the only name missing. He ruptured his ACL on Tuesday, 20 October, after sprinting back to make a tackle on Barcelona defender Xavi Espart just after the hour mark. Ousmane Dembélé and captain Marquinhos were also carried off in that match, with the club saying both will be out “a few weeks.”
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Kvaratskhelia’s absence is of a different order. PSG confirmed that the 25-year-old will undergo surgery in the coming days. The club has not set a return date, but an ACL rupture typically keeps a player out for at least nine months, which puts the rest of the 2026-27 season beyond him.
The Georgian himself posted on Instagram after the diagnosis was confirmed: “I have never missed anything, probably I prepared for this game the best I have ever prepared for… why me anyway?”
Kvaratskhelia was named Champions League Player of the Season after PSG’s second straight European title earlier in 2026 and is among the 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. He will undergo his operation within days, with no firm timeline attached.
PSG are back in action in Ligue 1 before travelling to Aston Villa in the Champions League on 8 December, a trip Kvaratskhelia will miss.
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