SportsNeymar Bags Red Card, As Lille Shoot To Top Of Ligue 1

Neymar Bags Red Card, As Lille Shoot To Top Of Ligue 1

BEVERLY HILLS, Aprill 03, (THEWILL) – On Saturday, Lille took control of their destiny for the season’s race to the Ligue 1 trophy when they triumphed over Mauricio Pochettino’s defending champions and French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

In a match where Neymar was sent off on his return after a two-months injury layoff, a dramatic finale to see his team fall to a 1-0 defeat in the Top-Of-The-Table Battle.

Neymar injured his adductor as a substitute against Marseille at the beginning of February but was unable to inspire the champions in a game settled by Jonathan David’s 20th minute goal on his return to the starting XI, which his inclusion was meant to get.

The frustrating day for Neymar, who had missed two great chances, was worsened when he received a second yellow card and subsequent red for a shove on Tiago Djalo as frustrations boiled over before time. Djalo was also shown red having already been booked but Lille moved three points clear of PSG, who have now lost three home games on the spin in Ligue 1 for the first time since October 2007.

The Brazilian international would have expected to hit the back of the net with an acrobatic effort after being expertly teed up by Angel Di Maria, who also set Kylian Mbappe racing free only for his left-foot effort to be brilliantly saved by Mike Maignan, the Lille keeper, who was easily the Man of the Match.

Lille succeeded where PSG failed after 20 minutes when Jonathan Bamba led a lightning counter-attack to pick out David, whose shot deflected off Thilo Kehrer and over a helpless Keylor Navas.

Moise Kean also tested Maignan and Lille – who lost David to injury before the break – found plenty of success utilising pace against a static PSG defence in a frenetic encounter.

Di Maria saw a tentative penalty claim waved away before Neymar and Bamba traded well-struck long-range efforts.

It was Neymar again who really ought to have done better for PSG when stooping to head Marquinhos’ right-wing cross wide with 20 minutes to play, while Burak Yilmaz – who scored four times for Turkey during the international break – shot straight at Navas with a great chance to wrap it up for Lille.

Tempers then boiled over as Neymar, already booked for pushing Andre in the face, lost his cool trying to get the ball back from Djalo, who was also dismissed for his role in the unsavoury finish.

Now, Lille can look with fervour at a first domestic league trophy since the 2010/2011 campaign.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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