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Ten-man PSG held as dogged Reims strike late

Published : Tuesday, 31 January, 2023 at 12:00 AM  Count : 423

Ten-man PSG held as dogged Reims strike late

Ten-man PSG held as dogged Reims strike late

On-loan Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun ran through to score a remarkable 96th-minute equaliser as Reims held 10-man Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

It looked like Neymar's strike early in the second half would be enough for PSG to take all three points despite substitute Marco Verratti being sent off shortly after that goal.

But an impressive Reims side got the draw they richly deserved when Balogun broke away to fire home right at the death.
The result sees the club coached by 30-year-old Belgian-born Englishman Will Still extend their unbeaten run to 14 games between league and cup.

They remain in mid-table but have now drawn with the Parisians twice this season, their collective strength allowing a team of hungry young players to hold their own against PSG's superstars.

PSG have now dropped points in three of their four league games in 2023, and while they remain three points clear of Lens at the top of the table, their form is a concern with the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich now little over two weeks away.

"Overall we obviously can't be satisfied with our performance. It is not a question of being worried but we need to get back to winning ways quickly and play much more as a team than we are at the moment," coach Christophe Galtier told broadcaster Amazon Prime.

"To concede a goal after 95 minutes with the number of experienced players we have -- it is damaging for us in terms of the points dropped but it is also very surprising."

Galtier fielded Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all together in his starting line-up for the first time since the World Cup as PSG took to the field wearing their fourth kit with players' names in Mandarin to mark the Lunar New Year.

In fact PSG lined up in a 4-2-4 formation at the start with Carlos Soler joining the superstar attacking trio and playing on the right wing.

Yet they sorely missed Verratti in midfield with the Italian left on the bench in the first half as Reims looked the more dangerous side.    �AFP







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