A Mathieu Debuchy own-goal earned 10-man Paris Saint-Germain a fortuitous 1-1 draw against an AS Saint-Etienne side who had the measure of the runaway Ligue 1 leaders for much of Friday’s frantic encounter at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Former Newcastle United forward Remy Cabella struck in the 17th minute to put Saint-Etienne ahead, but he then missed a penalty.
With the hosts unable to exploit the sending off of Presnel Kimpembe, PSG earned an unlikely draw when Debuchy deflected a shot into his own net in the second minute of injury-time.
Photo: AFP
“The first half was the worst we had played all season, but I am happy with the way we reacted and for the work that we put in during the second half; we deserved a point,” PSG coach Unai Emery said.
PSG turned up knowing that a win and defeat for AS Monaco 24 hours later against Nantes would hand them the title with six games of the season remaining.
Kylian Mbappe started with Edinson Cavani on the bench, and Neymar no doubt keeping tabs on proceedings from at home in Brazil, where he is recovering from an operation on a fractured foot.
In-form Saint Etienne were looking to extend their unbeaten run to 10, and they raced out of the blocks with Cabella’s 17th-minute tap-in placing their well-heeled visitors on the back foot.
Cabella top and tailed the move as he fed the ball on the right to Debuchy, who produced a dangerous high ball into the box, with Jonathan Bamba missing a header only for Cabella to slot past PSG goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to the delight of the home fans.
Saint-Etienne were awarded a questionable penalty in the 29th minute, when Romain Hamouma hit the deck after minimal contact from Kimpembe, with Layvin Kurzawa also booked for contesting the decision.
Cabella stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Areola dived correctly to the right to deny the Corsican-born striker’s low effort, Mbappe cheekily standing behind Cabella indicating correctly to Areola where he thought the spot-kick would go.
Out-of-sorts PSG’s night went from bad to worse when Kimpembe was red-carded for picking up a second booking for catching Hamouma’s ankle with his studs five minutes from the break.
The referee blew his whistle for halftime, but not before dishing out two further yellow cards to PSG’s Javier Pastore and Lassana Diarra.
Kimpembe’s premature exclusion forced Emery into structural alterations, with Thiago Silva replacing underperforming Diarra for the second half.
It was a more dynamic and purposeful PSG who emerged, the speed of Mbappe proving a handful for the hosts.
Cavani entered the fray for Pastore for the final 20 minutes, but he had his head in his hands when shooting wide from close range into an open goal.
That howler, which seemed to sum up PSG’s largely forgettable night up to then, came on a break following intense action down the other end, with Areola doing well to deflect Oussama Tannane’s shot off the crossbar.
As the game moved into added time, the Ligue 1 gods finally smiled on PSG, with Debuchy deflecting in a shot from Thomas Meunier.
While frustrating for the Qatari-backed side, the stalemate will only have delayed their title coronation.
BUNDESLIGA
AP, HANNOVER, Germany
Hannover 96 on Friday defeated Werder Bremen 2-1 to end their five-game losing streak and all but secure Bundesliga survival.
The visitors went closest early on, but Martin Harnik broke the deadlock when he got his toe to Miiko Albornoz’ cross and beat Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka at the near post.
Felix Klaus made it 2-0 before the break, converting on the rebound after Marvin Bakalorz struck the post.
Ishak Belfodil pulled one back with more than 15 minutes remaining with a header from Thomas Delaney’s whipped-in cross.
However, Hannover managed to hold on to move nine points clear of the relegation zone and 15 clear of Cologne in a direct relegation place with five games left.
Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt, who this week extended his contract to 2021, suffered his first defeat in six games.
His side stayed ahead of Hannover by one point.
LA LIGA
AP, MADRID
Clarence Seedorf’s wait for a win at RC Deportivo de La Coruna ended on Friday in his ninth match in charge with a 3-2 victory over Malaga in a meeting of relegation-threatened teams.
Deportivo scored more goals on one night than they had in the previous eight games under Seedorf, who was facing mounting pressure over his struggles.
Striker Adrian Lopez scored twice, including an 85th-minute winner, to move Deportivo five points from safety with seven games remaining in La Liga.
“We will keep going game by game,” Seedorf said.
“I still believe we can do this, even more so now after this victory,” he added.
Levante UD, who are directly above Deportivo out of the relegation zone, play next-from-last UD Las Palmas today. Malaga are four points adrift of Las Palmas in last place.
Lucas Perez also scored for Deportivo, who twice relinquished the lead at the Estadio Municipal de Riazor.
Malaga’s goals came from Diego Rolan and Guilherme.
Deportivo had only managed two goals and conceded 10 as Seedorf lost five of his opening eight matches to leave the 2000 La Liga champions facing a return to the second division after four years back in the top flight.
A gifted midfielder as a player with Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter and AC Milan, Seedorf is making his third attempt at coaching after brief stints with AC Milan in 2014 and a second-division Chinese club in 2016.
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