Messi free-kick wins seven-goal thriller for PSG | OneFootball

Lionel Messi scored a 95th-minute free-kick as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat LOSC Lille 4-3 in a remarkable game at the Parc des Princes on Sunday and end a run of three straight defeats. Kylian Mbappé scored twice but Neymar Jr. was carried off injured.

Paris Saint-Germain 4-3 LOSC Lille

THE MATCH

PSG were looking to get back on track after their 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in midweek and return to winning ways. Lille nearly scored in the opening minute when a deflected Timothy Weah shot was saved by the legs of Gianluigi Donnarumma, but Paris soon appeared to be cruising as they found themselves two goals in front inside 17 minutes.

Mbappé, on his first start after a recent thigh injury, scored the opener in the 12th minute, knocking the ball through the legs of Tiago Djaló and then forcing his way in between the Lille centre-back and his teammate Bafodé Diakité before finding the net. Neymar then made it 2-0 as he converted after a clever assist from Vitinha, and the Ligue 1 Uber Eats leaders were in control against opponents they beat 7-1 away in August.

Yet Lille arrived in the capital on a run of just one defeat in 10 league games and they gathered themselves for a fightback. The visitors quickly pulled one back, playing a corner short before André Gomes crossed for the unmarked Diakité to head in his first Lille goal (24’).

Neymar suffers ankle injury

PSG’s afternoon began to get seriously complicated just after the restart when Neymar appeared to turn his ankle in a challenge and looked to be in tears as he was helped onto a stretcher before being replaced by Hugo Ekitiké.

Soon after Lille were level, Canada star Jonathan David converting a penalty after Marco Verratti had been penalised for a shirt pull in the area just before the hour mark. Then they went in front in dramatic fashion as André Gomes sent Jonathan Bamba away with a ball over the top and he beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with an emphatic finish (69’).

It was hard to see PSG coming back from that but Mbappé grabbed the equaliser with three minutes left, beating Lucas Chevalier at his near post from a Juan Bernat assist. Messi then stepped up, winning a free-kick just outside the box when he was fouled by Benjamin André, and dispatching the dead ball in off a post (90+5’) to complete an extraordinary afternoon in the sunshine.

THE PLAYER: Kylian Mbappé

Messi was the matchwinner but Mbappé had previously rescued PSG on his first start since suffering a thigh injury on February 1. After appearing as a substitute in the midweek defeat by Bayern Munich, the France star opened the scoring early on here and then snatched the late equaliser that made it 3-3 and preceded Messi’s dramatic winner. That is 27 goals now this season in all competitions for Mbappé. Five of them have come against Lille.

THE STAT: 15

The number of goals scored in two games between Paris and Lille this season.

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