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Paris (AFP)
Neymar was sent off at the end when a limping Jonathan David scored the only goal to give Lille a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in their Ligue 1 title showdown on Saturday, a result that puts them on three. lead points at the top.
Canadian forward David was struggling with an ankle injury when he shot home in the 20th minute.
Shortly afterwards he was forced to retreat and came out on crutches to watch the second half on heavy straps where he had been caught by Idrissa Gana Gueye.
Without him, Lille held on to beat PSG in a league match in the capital for the first time in a quarter of a century, with a frustrating afternoon for the hosts summed up when Neymar was sacked.
Brazilian and Lille defender Tiago Djalo received second yellow cards after a shoving match.
It is Neymar’s second expulsion this season and the fourth since moving to France on a world-record contract in 2017.
The result sees Lille take a big step towards their first Ligue 1 title in a decade, just before Qatar’s takeover of PSG, which changed the face of French football.
It would be a remarkable achievement for the Northerners to overtake the Parisians, who have won seven of the last eight league crowns and face Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final midweek.
“We are the best and we are in the fight, but so are Lyon, Paris and Monaco. There is not much to it,” admitted Lille coach Christophe Galtier.
PSG have now suffered three consecutive league losses at home for the first time since 2007, and are three points behind Lille with seven games to play.
Monaco are another point behind in third place after beating Metz 4-0, but Lyon lost ground, falling five points behind the leader in fourth place with a 1-1 draw at fifth-place Lens.
It had been imagined that Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG would move on to another league title after winning 4-2 in Lyon before the recent international break, but Saturday’s result casts doubt on his credentials.
They have won just one point from four games against Lille and Monaco this season. Lyon also beat them in Paris.
“I am disappointed by the result and by losing three important points. I am not worried but we will have to keep fighting until the end,” Pochettino said.
“We are an inconsistent team for many reasons, but we are working to fix that.”
– Monaco wins, Lyon holds –
PSG can still imagine their chances of avenging last season’s Champions League final defeat when they face a Bayern team without the injured Robert Lewandowski.
However, they will have to perform much better than here against a well-organized team from Lille that survived an early scare before scoring.
Mike Maignan swung Kylian Mbappé’s shot around the post shortly before the visitors’ goal came, Jonathan Ikone singled out David whose 12-yard shot was deflected from Thilo Kehrer for his 10th of the season.
The 21-year-old forward was replaced by Timothy Weah before the break, and Lille held on, and Neymar had a shot stopped by Maignan in the second half and then swerved off a Marquinhos cross.
Lille could have scored a second as Burak Yilmaz was denied by Keylor Navas after a counterattack.
Monaco scored all their goals in the second half against a Metz that ended with 10 men.
Cesc Fabregas scored a penalty and Kevin Volland scored his 14th of the season before French forward Wissam Ben Yedder came off the bench to crash in the third.
Ben Yedder scored again from the spot later, bringing his season tally to 15 goals, after Metz captain John Boye received a second yellow card for a foul on Gelson Martins.
“If we continue in this direction, maybe there is something possible for us,” Monaco coach Niko Kovac told Canal Plus about his team’s title chances.
Lyon needed a late draw from Lucas Paqueta to tie at Lens after Jonathan Clauss had overtaken the locals. Islam Slimani was ultimately expelled by Lyon.
© 2021 AFP
