Luis Enrique’s choice to rest key players ahead of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona nearly resulted in a surprise upset as Paris Saint-Germain came close to defeat against bottom-placed Clermont Foot.
PSG narrowly avoided a second consecutive home defeat to Clermont with a stylish 86th-minute equalizer from Goncalo Ramos, assisted by substitute Kylian Mbappe.
Enrique made wholesale changes to the lineup that started the French Cup semi-final victory over Rennes earlier in the week, with Mbappe and Marquinhos among the star-studded players on the bench.
The team he assembled would typically have had enough strength to secure victory, but PSG began the match slowly and failed to apply sustained pressure until the second half. By then, Habib Keita had unexpectedly given Clermont the lead with a scrappy yet crucial goal on the counterattack.
The second half saw PSG dominate proceedings, both before and after Mbappe’s introduction. Achraf Hakimi and Ramos both struck the crossbar for PSG before Ramos and Mbappe combined beautifully to score the equalizer.
As a result, PSG now require a maximum of nine points from their remaining six matches to clinch their 10th Ligue 1 title in 12 seasons.
