Paris, May 1 (IANS) Paris Saint-Germain’s lead in the French Ligue 1 was reduced to five points on Sunday night after a humiliating 3-1 home defeat to Lorient, while second-placed Marseille rallied to beat Auxerre 2-1 in a later match.
The French defending champions had to play with one man down for most of the match as Achraf Hakimi was sent off only 20 minutes into the game after receiving a second yellow card for a stamp on Darlin Yongwa. The Morocco right-back also got booked for a tackle on Romain Faivre in the fifth minute.
Faivre, the 24-year-old French midfielder, organized the attack well for Lorient, sending a brilliant cross from the right to help Enzo Le Fee open the scoring for the visitors in the 15th.
Although Kylian Mbappe equalized for PSG before the half-hour mark, Faivre contributed another sensational solo performance in the 40th, drilling from the right and strolling past Marco Verratti and Juan Bernat to set up for Yongwa’s goal, a Xinhua report said.
“It was a disappointing game, disappointing in terms of the beginning, when we started completely amorphous, making many mistakes and technical errors, which obviously gave Lorient, who played well, a reason to hope,” said PSG head coach Christophe Galtier.
The home side were once again jeered by their supporters at halftime, but the blow continued after the break. Substitute Bamba Dieng headed in the rebound after Gianluigi Donnarumma had parried his initial effort in the 87th to wrap up the victory for Lorient.
“We will have to perform well in our upcoming matches, against Troyes next weekend, against Ajaccio at home too, because everyone will be fighting to make sure we take the title,” Galtier said. “We have lost a few games in front of our home fans. That’s not okay, and so we are sorry – and angry. We need to channel that anger on the field by training well and absolutely winning the next game.”
It was the sixth domestic league defeat, nine in all competitions, for Galtier’s side in 2023. The result also handed a chance to their nearest rivals Marseille, who clinched a comeback 2-1 victory at Auxerre to move only five points behind PSG on the table, with five games left in the season.
Captain Birama Toure put the relegation-threatened hosts ahead in the 33rd minute, but Marseille pushed hard for the equalizer.
Igor Tudor’s team allowed their rivals only 30 percent ball possession, managed 26 attempts, and finally found the net in the 75th with Cengiz Under’s strike leveling the score. Alexis Sanchez hit the winner only two minutes later to capture the three points for Marseille.
Third-placed Lens will move to within six points of PSG if they win at Toulouse on Tuesday, and a heavyweight clash will be staged next Saturday when Lens host Marseille at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
“It’s now up to us to play a great match in Lens on Saturday. I remember a very good first-leg match between us; we lost 1-0 on a deflected shot, but I think we deserved to win,” said Tudor. “We’re both good teams; we’ll see how it will turn out.”
–IANS
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