April 24, (THEWILL) – On Saturday evening, Paris Saint-Germain clinched a record-tying eighth Ligue 1 title with an uneasy 1-1 draw at home against a Lens team that finished the game with 10 men.
On a night when a single point would have been enough for PSG to win the title, Lens proved to be a tenacious opponent.
The visitors slid into a compact 5-4-1 off the ball in an attempt to spoil the PSG formation. When Les Parisiens played the ball sideways or attempted a clumsy pass out from a short goal kick, the visitors sprung out of their defensive shell to counter.
It went that way for the rest of the half, which ended with a chorus of boos from a cross-section of fans. It was for a first half in which PSG had generated chances, but collectively lacked a crisp touch in the vital moment, with both Neymar and Achraf Hakimi wasting chances on goal.
In the second half, Kylian Mbappe’s quick thinking almost broke the deadlock. Mbappe launched a smartly taken free-kick before sauntering into an empty penalty area where only goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca was aware of the threat. He smothered Mbappe, and the Frenchman’s second attempt was swiftly saved off the line.
Before the hour mark, Lens defender Kevin Danso received his second yellow card of the game, carelessly sliding into Neymar, leaving his side with an even more arduous task to claim something from the fixture than before.
The fans had to wait until the 68th minute before Lionel Messi broke the deadlock. PSG’s summer signing received the ball in front of Lens’ massed ranks and smashed it into the top corner from 25 yards for his fourth league goal of the season.
Lens, on the other hand, would not silently fade into the background of PSG’s celebrations. Lens players combined down the left side and exploited an opening in the PSG danger area, where Corentin Jean converted Deiver Machado’s low ball across the face of goal.
It finished 1-1, but that was enough to see PSG celebrate yet another league title at the final whistle.
For Lens, however, their European campaign is far from over, as this point brings them level with Nice in sixth place. They might move up to third place with another win, but the three teams ahead of them now all have a game in hand.
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