from their first defeat of the season on
Sunday before a desperate equaliser
from Blaise Matuidi salvaged a 2-2
draw at Saint-Etienne and kept them
top of Ligue 1.
In a match full of drama and
controversy, Saint-Etienne threw away
a 2-0 second half lead albeit hindered
by a red card which allowed Laurent
Blanc's men back in the match.
The point allowed PSG to cling to top
spot as they lead Monaco on goal
difference after Claudio Ranieri's side
defeated Lyon 2-1 earlier in the day.
"It was a difficult evening for Paris and
an intense match but I enjoyed myself
regardless," Blanc said.
"PSG have to understand that we are
going to come up against very good,
organised teams and we were in a
great stadium tonight.
"We gave them two goals which were
terrible defensive mistakes and we
were punished.
"I thought we were average and Saint-
Etienne fully deserved at least a point."
added the former France and
Bordeaux handler.
Midfielder Benjamin Corgnet opened
the scoring after just 18 minutes when
he took advantage of a missed
clearance from Brazilian centre-back
Marquinhos to crash the ball past a
static Salvatore Sirigu in the PSG goal.
The visitors failed to convert their
possession dominance as they chased
an equaliser and fell further behind in
comical circumstances six minutes
after the break.
Sirigu came out of his goal to collect a
cross but tangled with his own
defender Alex which allowed Romain
Hamouma to clip the ball into an
empty goal.
It was the first time since last March
that PSG had conceded two goals in a
league match -- ironically against the
same opposition.
But the turning point occurred on 59
minutes when Fabien Lemoine tangled
with Ezequiel Lavezzi who elbowed
him in the face leaving him covered in
blood.
Referee Ruddy Buquet saw the incident
differently and sent off the furious
Frenchman who may have been
dismissed for dissent in the heat of the
moment.
The red card swung the momentum in
favour of Blanc's men and when
Edinson Cavani stabbed the ball home
from close range after a good pass
from Brazilian defender Maxwell, the
comeback was half completed.
However, stubborn defending from
Saint-Etienne and some rousing
support almost inspired Christophe
Galtier's League Cup holders to victory.
But with seconds remaining a looping
ball into the penalty area from Matuidi
eluded Saint-Etienne 'keeper Stephane
Ruffier and bounced into the net.
Earlier at the Louis II stadium, Ligue
1's top scorer Radamel Falcao found
the target for the first time in four
matches as he helped Monaco defeat
Lyon 2-1.
The former Atletico Madrid striker
chipped Lyon 'keeper Anthony Lopes
in the 36th minute following Mounir
Obbadi's 28th minute opener as
Claudio Ranieri's men extended their
unbeaten run to seven wins and four
draws in 11 outings.
French striker Bafetimbi Gomis gave
the visitors hope with 28 minutes left
when he powered home a close-range
header but it wasn't enough as Lyon
suffered their fifth defeat.
"It was important for Falcao to score
and when he scores Monaco usually
win and we have to win all our
matches if we want to stay at the top,"
explained Monaco's Portuguese
defender Ricardo Carvalho.
Lille slip to third, two points back
behind PSG and Monaco following
their disciplined 1-0 win at Nantes on
Friday.
Earlier on Sunday, Bordeaux rode two
late goals from Mali international
Cheikh Diabate and Polish winger
Ludovic Obraniak to defeat
Montpellier 2-0 in a battle of former
champions at the Chaban Delmas
stadium.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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