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

PSG too good for Marseille, Neymar carried off

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique de Marseille - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - February 25, 2018 Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar is put onto a stretcher by medical staff after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

PARIS (Reuters) - Paris St Germain continued their stroll towards the French title with a 3-0 home win against bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille on Sunday but forward Neymar left the field on a stretcher late in the game as they extended their Ligue 1 lead to 14 points.

Kylian Mbappe, a Rolando own goal and Edinson Cavani put the capital side on 71 points from 27 games after a clinical performance at the Parc des Princes in an ill-tempered game in which the hosts got six yellow cards and the visitors five.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique de Marseille - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - February 25, 2018 Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

PSG finished with 10 men after Neymar was carried off with a suspected ankle injury eight minutes from time after coach Unai Emery had already made his three replacements.

"We showed that it's a very special match for us and we got an excellent result," Emery said. "The injury to Neymar was the only negative. We hope it's nothing serious, but we have to wait for further medical exams."

The coach said initial tests showed it was a twisted ankle but he added further exams on Monday would reveal if there was more serious damage.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique de Marseille - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - February 25, 2018 Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani celebrates with Neymar after scoring their third goal REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

The Paris club will now sweat over his availability for the March 6 Champions League game with Real Madrid.

PSG lost the first leg of the last 16 tie 3-1 in Spain on Feb 14 but Emery was optimistic his world-record signing would be fit for the return leg.

"We must be patient but if I had to say something today then I would say yes, he will play."

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Olympique de Marseille - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - February 25, 2018 Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar is restrained after a clash between players from the two teams REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

LEAGUE POSITIONS

Sunday's result left Marseille in third on 55 points, two behind second-placed Monaco who were held to a 3-3 draw at Toulouse on Saturday.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique Lyonnais vs Saint-Etienne - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - February 25, 2018 Lyon's Mariano in action with St Etienne’s Mathieu Debuchy REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

Olympique Lyonnais were denied their first Ligue 1 win in over a month when St Etienne's Mathieu Debuchy scored a last-gasp goal to secure a 1-1 away draw in France's hottest derby.

In Paris, Mbappe scored his first league goal since last month when he dribbled past Rolando and found the back of the net with a low cross-shot in the 10th minute.

Rolando had more trouble in the 28th as he deflected Neymar's attempt into his own goal.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique Lyonnais vs Saint-Etienne - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - February 25, 2018 Lyon's Houssem Aouar and Jeremy Morel look dejected after the match REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

NEYMAR ASSISTS

Marseille failed to threaten and PSG's Ligue 1 top scorer Cavani added a third for his 24th goal of the season with a shot on the turn from Neymar's cross 11 minutes into the second half.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique Lyonnais vs Saint-Etienne - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - February 25, 2018 St Etienne’s Neven Subotic in action with Lyon's Mariano REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

It was the 13th time Neymar had set up a goal in Ligue 1 this season, beating his previous best of 12 assists in a league season with Barcelona in 2015-16.

OM have not won in Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes since Qatar Sports Investments took charge of the Paris club in 2011.

In Lyon, French international Debuchy struck one minute into stoppage time to cancel out Mariano Diaz's first-half opener.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique Lyonnais vs Saint-Etienne - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - February 25, 2018 Lyon's Memphis Depay shoots at goal REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

The win left Lyon, who are now on a five-match winless streak, in fourth place with 50 points with St Etienne 12th on 34 points.

Lyon scored after 20 minutes when Diaz volleyed home from close range but they ran out of steam and St Etienne, without a shot on target in the first half, came back into the game.

Debuchy found the back of the net when he latched onto Remi Cabella's cross to secure a point for the visitors.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique Lyonnais vs Saint-Etienne - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - February 25, 2018 Lyon's Mariano scores their first goal REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

(Additional reporting by Andrew Downie in Sao Paulo; Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique Lyonnais vs Saint-Etienne - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - February 25, 2018 St Etienne’s Romain Hamouma is shown a yellow card by referee Ruddy Buquet REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot
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.