PSG scrape draw against Rennes with last-gasp Ramos penalty
Lens' French forward #22 Wesley Said celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the French L1 football match between RC Lens and AS Monaco at Stade the Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, northern France on February 25, 2024. (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP)
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Goncalo Ramos converted a penalty with the last kick of the game to give Ligue 1 leaders Paris-Saint Germain a 1-1 home draw against bogey side Rennes on Sunday.
Brest are second, 11 points back, after beating
Strasbourg 3-0 on Saturday.
Monaco jumped to third, two points further
behind, on Sunday when Japan striker Takumi Minamino scored in the second
minute of added time to give them a last-gasp 3-2 win at Lens.
Nice drew 0-0 at home with bottom-club
Clermont and are a point behind in fourth. Lille lost 3-1 at Toulouse and are
fifth.
In the late game, Marseille came from a goal
behind to beat Montpellier 4-1 for a first league win this year.
Rennes, who beat AC Milan in the Europa
League on Thursday, rested Benjamin Bourigeaud, scorer of a hat-trick against
the Italians, and Martin Terrier.
They still took the lead when Amine Gouiri
fired a shot into the top corner in the 39th minute.
PSG took off star striker Kylian Mbappe, who
is planning to leave at the end of the season, after an hour.
"We have to get used to playing without
Kylian Mbappe," said coach Luis Enrique, who also took off Ousmane Dembele
and Bradley Barcola.
"It's a message for everyone," said
Enrique. "I'm very demanding of the players. If you think I'm going to
accept a player slacking off on the pitch, I'm not. I want you to say to
yourself, when you're in the starting line-up, 'I want to make the most of
this'."
As the home side pressed desperately for an
equaliser in added time, Ramos, who had replaced Mbappe, was booked for diving
in an attempt to win a penalty. Moments later, he plunged over goalkeeper Steve
Mandanda.
This time a video review went in favour of
the Portuguese striker, who converted the spot kick to save PSG's two unbeaten
runs: 18 games in Ligue 1 going back to September and 19 in all competitions
since October.
The victory also saved PSG from losing at
home to Rennes for a second straight season. The Breton club have beaten PSG
seven times since the Qatari takeover in 2011. No other French team has more
victories over the Parisians in that time.
"We're frustrated by this result,"
said Rennes coach Julien Stephan, adding there "are penalties given to the
big teams, or in certain stadiums..."
In Lens, United States international Folarin
Balogun put Monaco ahead after just 19 minutes. Minamino then doubled the lead
on the half-hour.
Lens struck back through Elye Wahi and Wesley
Said levelled in the 77th minute.
The hosts, who lost at Freiburg in the Europa
League on Thursday, faded in the last 10 minutes.
'What a
match!'
Balogun squandered an 83rd-minute penalty but
Minamino drilled home in stoppage time.
"What a match!" said Monaco coach
Adi Hutter.
"I hope this match will give us a lot of
confidence for our next game against Paris Saint-Germain."
In Nice, home goalkeeper Marcin Bulka threw
himself to his left at the end of the first half to save a penalty from Shamar
Nicholson. It was Bulka's fourth save from six penalties he has faced in all
competitions this season.
Nice have one win in their last six games.
"The performance was not
brilliant," said Nice coach Francesco Farioli, but "it's not a
tragedy."
Lille's poor away form continued as they
threw away a half-time lead to lose at Toulouse, who ended their own winless home
run.
Lille took the lead in added time with a goal
from Hakon Haraldsson.
Toulouse, whose only home victory since
October 1 was over Liverpool in the Europa League, hit three goals in a
17-minute burst.
Christian Mawissa levelled following a corner
in the 49th minute.
Substitute Yann Gboho won a penalty eight
minutes later that another half-time replacement, Vincent Sierro, converted.
Gboho then set up Thijs Dallinga for the
third in the 66th minute. Lille have not won away in Ligue 1 since November 26.
Marseille, who had not won in the league
since December, continued their upturn since Jean-Louis Gasset replaced Gennaro
Gattuso in midweek.
Gasset's reign started with a Europa League
victory on Thursday. On Sunday, Marseille conceded after four minutes to
struggling Montpellier, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as they
swept the visitors aside.


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