Messi snatches dramatic win for PSG after Neymar stretchered off

Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward Kylian Mbappe (L), Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar (C) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Argentine forward Lionel Messi (R) react after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Lille LOSC at The Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on February 19, 2023. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Lionel Messi scored a 95th-minute free-kick to give Paris Saint-Germain a 4-3 win over Lille in an extraordinary Ligue 1 game on Sunday in which Kylian Mbappe scored twice but Neymar was taken off on a stretcher with an apparent ankle injury.

Messi’s late winner came after PSG had squandered a two-goal lead and fallen 3-2 behind, with Mbappe grabbing a late equaliser before the Argentine’s stunning strike.

The result ends a run of three straight defeats for PSG and moves them eight points clear of second-placed Marseille, who visit Toulouse later and then host the capital club next weekend.

Of immediate concern to the Parisians will be the injury to Neymar, who looked to be in tears as he was helped onto a stretcher early in the second half after turning his ankle.

The Brazilian’s fitness is now likely to dominate headlines in the run-up to next week’s Marseille showdown but also the second leg of PSG’s Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich on March 8.

Christophe Galtier’s team were looking to bounce back from a 1-0 home loss to the Germans in the first leg of that tie and they went ahead early on against Lille through Mbappe, making his first start after returning from a thigh injury.

Neymar soon made it 2-0 against a side PSG beat 7-1 in their last meeting in August, but Bafode Diakite pulled one back for fifth-placed Lille midway through the first