Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Sport

PSG suffer first loss under Pochettino as Lille go top

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lorient v Paris St Germain - Stade du Moustoir, Lorient, France - January 31, 2021 Paris St Germain's Neymar scores their first goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Paris St Germain fell to their first defeat under new coach Mauricio Pochettino, losing 3-2 at lowly Lorient to a goal in added time, as Lille moved top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 home victory against Dijon on Sunday.

Champions PSG went ahead thanks to two Neymar penalties after Laurent Abergel's opener for Lorient, only for the hosts to equalise with 10 minutes left through Yoane Wissa before securing the win in stoppage time with a Terem Moffi strike.

Playing a couple of hours later, Lille grabbed the opportunity to go top when Yusuf Yazici's first-half goal was enough to put them on 48 points from 22 games.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lorient v Paris St Germain - Stade du Moustoir, Lorient, France - January 31, 2021 Lorient's Andrew Gravillon in action with Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Girondins de Bordeaux 2-1 on Friday, are second on 46 points with PSG sliding to third one point further adrift.

Lille dominated throughout against Dijon and were rewarded in the 29th minute when Yazici recovered the ball in the area and beat goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi, who had previously made a couple of great saves, from close range.

Dijon are second-bottom on 15 points, three points behind Lorient and Nantes.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lorient v Paris St Germain - Stade du Moustoir, Lorient, France - January 31, 2021 Paris St Germain's Neymar scores their second goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

PSG had won four and drawn one of their games since Argentine Pochettino replaced the sacked Thomas Tuchel during the winter break but they had not looked impressive and Sunday's loss was therefore not too surprising.

They were without Marco Verratti and Abdou Diallo, who have been isolating after testing positive for COVID-19, and the Italian midfielder's absence was felt in particular.

Lorient went ahead against the run of play when Abergel dispossessed Danilo Pereira, standing in for Verratti, and fired the ball under the bar with a cross-shot in the 36th minute.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lorient v Paris St Germain - Stade du Moustoir, Lorient, France - January 31, 2021 Paris St Germain's Neymar celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates

PSG hit back on the stroke of halftime as Neymar converted a penalty after being brought down by Houboulang Mendes.

Mendes was at fault again, with a foul on Mauro Icardi this time, as PSG won another penalty, which was coolly dispatched once more by Neymar in the 58th.

But Lorient levelled with 10 minutes left when Wissa fired past Sergio Rico after a one-two with fellow substitute Moffi.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lorient v Paris St Germain - Stade du Moustoir, Lorient, France - January 31, 2021 Lorient's Yoane Wissa celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Moffi then bagged all three points for Lorient after beating the offside trap for the fifth goal in his last five matches as PSG lost in the league for the first time in eight games and the first time in nine competitive matches.

Their last reverse was a 1-0 loss to Lyon in Ligue 1 on Dec. 13.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ken Ferris)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.