PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of the French league on Saturday, courtesy of Champions League playoff opponent Monaco.
PSG beat bottom-placed Metz 3-0 with goals from Desiree Doue, Bradley Barcola and Gonzalo Ramos, building on Monaco’s 3-2 win over leaders Reims last time out.
PSG had a two-goal lead over Lens with 11 matches remaining.
Reims beat promoted Paris FC 5-0 last weekend to move into the lead, but PSG lost 3-1 to Rennes.
But Lens’ hopes of staying at the top for a long time were dealt a harsh blow on Saturday when they lost a comfortable two-goal lead and conceded three to Metz with just over an hour left.
the lens was stunned
Odsonne Edouard scored early on a volley from Reims, and Florian Thaubin scored the rebound after Monaco goalkeeper Philippe Cohn could only parry a deflected shot early in the second half.
It was a great result for the home team.
USA forward Folarin Balogun scored in the 62nd minute, Denis Zakaria equalized in the 70th minute and Ansu Fati exploited a defensive error to make it 3-2 two minutes later.
It was quite the comeback for Monaco, who led PSG 2-0 after Balogun’s brace in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs on Tuesday. Just lose 3-2.
Lens’ night was summed up when Saud Abdulhamid received a warning for diving instead of being given the penalty he felt he deserved.
PSG responds
Metz must have feared a rout when Warren Zaire-Emery slotted a long ball behind a high line of Metz defenders and Douai scored after just two minutes.
Ramos slotted the ball across goal and Barcola headed home the second goal before the end of the first half.
The home side continued to play it safe, but could not get a shot on target until Ramos scored his third goal in the 77th minute.
PSG probably could have scored more but seemed more keen to conserve energy for Wednesday’s Champions League play-off second leg rendezvous with Monaco in Paris. The winner will face either Barcelona or Chelsea in the round of 16.
Also on Saturday, Argentine teenager Julián Vignolo came on as a substitute for mid-table Toulouse and scored a late goal to help them draw 1-1 with promoted Paris FC.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
