PARIS, Dec 23: Runaway leader Paris Saint-Germain headed into the winter break after narrowly avoiding a humiliating defeat as Mauro Icardi’s injury-time goal salvaged a 1-1 draw at struggling Lorient in the French league.
PSG leads second-place Nice and third-place Marseille by 13 points. Nice beat Lens 2-1 while Marseille needed an even later injury-time goal than PSG to draw 1-1 at home to Reims.
Nice and Marseille are separated on goal difference. It was another mostly bland and uninspiring performance from PSG this season.
Coach Mauricio brought on former Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos after the break, but he was sent off five minutes from the end for a second yellow card.
With 10-man PSG pouring forward, right back Achraf Hakimi clipped over a great cross from the right and Icardi expertly headed home in the first minute of injury time to cancel out Thomas Monconduit’s thundering strike late in the first half.
Terem Moffi combined with Enzo Le Fee to set up Monconduit for a fizzing strike from 20 meters which beat Navas off the underside of the crossbar.
Pochettino let his frustration show when Angel Di Maria blazed over after being set up in the 55th by Messi, who took a high ball down and glided past an opponent before squaring it perfectly.
Marseille playmaker Dimitri Payet was fouled and then scored a penalty in the eighth minute of injury time following a long video review, after winger Hugo Ekitike gave Reims a 75th-minute lead.
Canada striker Jonathan David netted the winner as defending champion Lille trailed twice before winning 3-2 at Bordeaux to move into eighth place. Honduras striker Alberth Elis got Bordeaux’s goals.
Meanwhile, fourth-place Rennes lost 2-1 at sixth-place Monaco.
Elsewhere, it was: Montpellier 4, Angers 1; Lyon 1, Metz 1; Saint-Etienne 0, Nantes 1; and Troyes 1, Brest 1. Clermont’s home game against Strasbourg was called off because of fog. (AP)
