Paris (Reuters)
Paris Saint-Germain continued its poor results when it conceded near the end, to settle for a 1-1 draw with its guest Stade Reims, after completing the meeting with ten players in the French Football League.
Neymar gave the hosts the lead early in the second half, before team mate Marco Verratti was sent off shortly after coming on as a substitute.
Florian Balogne equalized for Reims in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Paris Saint-Germain, who lacked creativity, wasted the opportunity to consolidate its lead by five points, and take advantage of the stumbling of Lens, Olympique de Marseille and Monaco after its rivals tied.
The defending champions, who have lost twice in their last three matches, have 48 points from 20 matches, three ahead of Lens.
Marseille has 43 points in third place.
Reims comes in 11th place with 26 points, after extending its unbeaten record in the league to 12 matches.
Saint-Germain midfielder Danilo Pereira said: “I have no words to describe the match, we need to change the mentality.”
“We have to suffer together. If we don’t, things will be difficult for us,” he added.
Saint-Germain started with the trio of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar for the first time this year, but their influence was absent in the first half, which the defending champion finished with a single shot on goal, while Reims, who played with a coherent defense, threatened the host’s goal through Marshall Munetsi, Alexis Phillips and Balogun.
This prompted coach Christophe Galtier to replace Vitinha with Verratti in the middle of the field, and the Italian player’s imprint was immediate after Saint-Germain finally imposed the pressure.
In the 51st minute, Messi’s shot changed direction to reach Neymar, who dodged Yevan Diov and hit the net.
But Verratti’s contribution lasted only 14 minutes, as he was sent off after reviewing the video assistant referee system, due to a violent tackle against Junia Eto’o.
But Saint-Germain continued his dominance, and Sergio Ramos came close to doubling the lead with a header, and Ashraf Hakimi’s goal was canceled for offside.
It seemed that the hosts were on their way to clinching the three points, before Balogun found space behind Ramos to run and dodge goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and shoot into the empty goal, snatching a point deserved for Reims with his 11th personal goal this season.
Earlier today, Olympique Lyonnais beat Ajaccio 2-0, achieving its first victory in its last four league matches, thanks to goals from Yoann Lubinan and Alexandre Lacazette.
The atmosphere became tense after the final whistle, with a quarrel between the two teams’ crews.
Lyon ranks ninth with 28 points.
