Prime News Ghana

Ligue 1: PSG come from behind to beat Lille at Parc des Princes

By Vincent Ashitey
Shares
facebook sharing button Share
twitter sharing button Tweet
email sharing button Email
sharethis sharing button Share

Lionel Messi watched from the stands after he was replaced at half-time as Paris Saint-Germain scored two second-half goals to come from behind and beat Lille at Parc des Princes.

Jonathan David's eighth goal of the season separated the sides at the break, with PSG deservedly trailing after a woeful first-half performance.

Having already defeated PSG in the Trophee des Champions earlier this season, Lille started confidently and fired a warning with barely two minutes on the clock when Burak Yilmaz was played through only to be denied by an excellent Gianluigi Donnarumma save.

Lille's attack-minded approach was rewarded in the 31st-minute when David finished a thrilling team move assisted by Yilmaz's cut-back.

READ ALSO: Manchester United vs Liverpool result: Mohamed Salah nets hat trick in 5-0 Liverpool thrashing

The home side's best chance fell to Angel Di Maria - in for the ill Kylian Mbappe - five minutes before the break when his lobbed shot dropped just wide of the far post.

Mauricio Pochettino took the big decision to replace Messi with Mauro Icardi at the interval, with the 34-year-old producing a worryingly below-par display.

The switch didn't prompt an immediate improvement as Lille went close to doubling their advantage. PSG had Donnarumma to thank once more as he got a big hand to Yilmaz's lob and David could only blaze over on the follow-up.

But inspired by the brilliance of Di Maria, PSG finally found their groove and the Argentine's cross found Marquinhos for the equaliser in the 74th-minute to set up a tense finale.

A huge chance fell to Icardi who somehow contrived to miss the target from point-blank range before Di Maria took matters into his own hands, playing a give-and-go with Neymar before a sweet swipe of the left boot made it 2-1 to PSG with just two minutes to play.

The victory means Pochettino's side are 10 points clear of the chasing pack ahead of the weekend's games, while struggling Lille - the reigning champions - remain 11th.

Source: Eurosport