PARIS (AP) – Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was only minutes away from a fourth consecutive loss on Sunday when Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi came to the rescue to avert a major crisis at the club.
The French league leaders gave away a two-goal lead and were trailing by one goal with four minutes left before Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi turned things around to transform a fiasco in the making into a 4-3 win against Lille.
The hard-fought win followed a 1-0 defeat at home midweek against Bayern in the Champions League that came after a 3-1 defeat to Monaco in the league and another loss against bitter rival Marseille in the French Cup.
PSG kept a five-point lead over second-place Marseille, which kept the pressure on with a win at Toulouse ahead of their clash next week at the Stade Velodrome in the biggest match in French football.
After playing just half an hour against Bayern after returning from a thigh injury, Mbappe was back in Galtier’s starting lineup. His impact throughout made up for PSG’s defensive inadequacies and lapses of concentration.
PSG led 2-0 after 17 minutes with goals by Mbappe and Neymar but the French champions then conceded three times – with Bafode Diakite, Jonathan David and Jonathan Bamba all scoring – and lost Neymar through injury. There were signs of nerves amid the PSG ranks from the start.
The hosts were immediately under pressure as Tim Weah’s shot took a deflection and Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced into a reflex save to stop the ball with his feet.
Looking fragile, PSG relied on Mbappe to lead the way.
Set up by Neymar, the France forward burst down the left and cut inside to come face to face with Tiago Djalo and Diakite. Mbappe nutmegged Djalo and forced his way between the pair, then beat goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier with a low shot in the 11th minute.
PSG doubled its lead with a quick collective move ignited and concluded by Neymar, who slotted the ball into an empty net.
Neymar was forced off the field on a stretcher in the second half after twisting his right ankle.
Despite the comfortable cushion, PSG looked shaky. Lille was rewarded for its efforts from a set piece in the 23rd minute, with Diakite heading the ball home from Andre Gomes’ cross after a corner.
Things took a turn for the worse for PSG after Marco Verratti pulled Djalo’s jersey in the box, prompting the referee to signal a penalty. David coolly wrongfooted Donnarumma to level.
Bamba then put Lille in the driving seat with a superb strike from into the top corner, leaving Mbappe shaking his head in disbelief.
Mbappe did not give up and put PSG back in the match when he latched onto a back pass from Juan Bernat to slot the ball into the back of the net before Messi delighted PSG fans with his free kick.
