PSG 3-2 Saint-Etienne - Ligue 1 Player Ratings

Let’s check out the player ratings from the Ligue 1 clash between PSG and AS Saint-Étienne over at the Parc des Princes.

Mauro Icardi struck a late injury-time winner to seal Paris Saint-Germain a dramatic 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.

After dumping Bayern Munich out of the Champions League, PSG returned to domestic action. And Lille’s 1-1 draw with Montpellier on Friday left them with an opportunity to close to within a point of the Ligue 1 leaders.

But without Neymar, who served the second of a two-match ban on Sunday, the Parisians struggled. They came close to scoring through Pablo Sarabia and Rafinha. However, Claude Puel’s organized backline ensured Saint-Etienne survived the onslaught to keep the scoreline goalless at half-time.

The game, in fact, remained goalless until the 77th-minute.

What followed was a five-goal thriller inside the remaining 13 minutes plus injury-time. Although it was Saint-Etienne, not PSG, who broke the deadlock when Denis Bouanga fired a low strike past Sergio Rico.

76th min: PSG go 0-1 down vs St Etienne in a game they cannot afford to lose.

78th min: Kylian Mbappe scores to make it 1-1.

86th min: Kylian Mbappe wins a penalty and scores to make it 2-1.

Superstar behaviour ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/zi9awST8fm

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 18, 2021

Two minutes later, however, Kylian Mbappe struck. The forward overcame a frustrating first half to cancel out Bouanga’s opener before scoring a penalty in the 87th-minute to put PSG ahead.

But an injury-time equalizer from Romain Hamouma drew the game back on level terms. The winger was in the right place at the right time to tap the ball into the goal after Rico’s weak save from Bouanga.

However, Icardi ensured there would be one last twist by heading in a cross from Angel Di Maria in the fifth minute of injury time.

The Argentine’s sixth goal of the season moved PSG to within a point off the top of Ligue 1.

1️⃣ Lille – Played: 33, Points: 70
2️⃣ PSG – Played: 33, Points: 69

Kylian Mbappe's reaction at full-time says it all, that is a huge win for PSG. pic.twitter.com/001GIGPqnO

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 18, 2021

Mauricio Pochettino’s side will next welcome Angers at home for a Coupe de France quarter-final clash on Wednesday.

While Saint-Etienne, who sit 13th in the league table, play host to Brest in Ligue 1 next Saturday.

Player ratings

PSG: Rico (6); Florenzi (7), Kehrer (6), Kimpembe (6), Bakker (7); Pereira (6), Herrera (8); Sarabia (7), Rafinha (7), Kean (6); Mbappe (9).

Bench: Verratti (6), Di Maria (8), Icardi (7), Dagba (6).

St-Etienne: Green (5); Debuchy (7), Moukoudi (6), Cisse (7), Trauco (7); Youssouf (6), Camara (6), Neyou (7), Monnet-Paquet (6); Khazri (6), Hamouma (8).

Bench: Abi (6), Aouchiche (6), Nordin (6), Bouanga (7), Moueffek (6).