Ten-man Paris Saint-Germain won a stormy encounter at Stade de France on Friday as they overcame nine-man Racing Club de Lens 3-1 to move within four points of Ligue 1 leaders Olympique de Marseille.
Despite taking an early lead through Adamo Coulibaly, Lens self-destructed as they conceded three goals in 27 minutes and had two players sent off in front of a packed house at the national stadium, just outside of Paris.
PSG had Edinson Cavani red-carded.
Photo: AFP
Yohan Cabaye, Brazilian Maxwell and under-fire Uruguayan Cavani, from the penalty spot, did the damage for Laurent Blanc’s side as they went second in the table, one point ahead of Girondins de Bordeaux.
Lens remain third from bottom with just eight points from 10 matches.
“The match was a bit bizarre,” PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu said. “We started well and then conceded a goal, but we had the force to bounce back and the desire to win and that will make us stronger.”
“Things are a bit complicated at the moment with all our injuries, but we’re working to return to full strength,” the Italian said.
Lens took the lead against the run of play with only 10 minutes gone when 33-year-old Coulibaly intercepted a loose ball just inside the PSG half and raced toward goal. An angled shot from the left of the box took a telling deflection off the unfortunate stand-in captain Thiago Motta and beat Sirigu at the far post to put Lens in front.
PSG, despite playing in Paris and without injured talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, were the away side, and struck back decisively with two goals in six minutes that swung the match back in their favor.
Former Newcastle favorite Cabaye took advantage of a rare chance to be included in the starting eleven, as he pounced on a loose ball 25m from goal and drove home the equalizer past Rudy Riou on 28 minutes.
Six minutes later, the Lens goalkeeper was badly at fault as a miscued clearance fell to defender Maxwell 35m from goal and his instinctive shot toward goal looped over the defense and Riou and into the goal, handing the initiative back to Blanc’s men.
Lens coach Antoine Kombouare, who was in charge at PSG between 2009 and 2011 and is a former player with the capital club, then saw his side’s fortunes take a decisive turn for the worse eight minutes into the second half when Jean-Philippe Gbamin gave away a penalty and was sent off in the process.
Although he made light contact with Cavani, who was in a goal-scoring position, a penalty and subsequent red card was harsh on the promoted northerners. Cavani, who has come in for sustained criticism in the French press over his lack of firepower in front of goal, converted the penalty before being comically sent off during his celebrations.
First, handed a yellow for a harmless gesture toward the crowd, he then grabbed the referee’s arm in protest, which prompted a straight red from Nicolas Rainville.
“I don’t know why Cavani was sent off. Players should be allowed to ask for an explanation and it was done in a polite way, but it’s just not possible that this can happen. It’s a shame for the fans and the spectacle,” Sirigu said.
Moments later, Jerome Le Moigne was given his marching orders for Lens for a second bookable offense as the home side went down to nine men.
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