PARIS: 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 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 equalizer before the Argentine’s stunning strike.
The result ends a run of three straight defeats for PSG and moves them seven points clear at the top from Monaco, who beat Brest 2-1 away.
However, Marseille can move back up to second place, and to within five points of the leaders, with a win at Toulouse on Sunday evening before they host PSG next weekend.
“We came through it. It wasn’t a great performance,” Mbappe told broadcaster Amazon Prime.
“We made lots of mistakes and lost concentration too often and against a quality side you pay dearly for that, but we showed that even when we are not at our best and the context is not exactly favorable we are a different team with different players and we can always find a way.”
Of immediate concern to the Parisians is 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 right ankle.
PSG later confirmed a scan had shown no fracture, but said further tests would need to be carried out on the damage to the ligaments in the coming days, building fears the Brazilian could miss the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich on March 8.
“I hope ‘Ney’ is going to come back quickly because he is an important player for us,” added Mbappe, as PSG also saw Nuno Mendes forced off with an ankle problem.
Christophe Galtier’s team were looking to bounce back from a 1-0 home loss to Bayern in the first leg of that European tie, and they went ahead early on against Lille through Mbappe — making his first start after returning from a recent 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 Lille midway through the first half.
The home side then saw Neymar carried off within five minutes of the second half starting, and Lille drew level when Jonathan David converted a penalty for his 17th goal this season following a Marco Verratti foul in the box.
Jonathan Bamba made it 3-2 to the away side with a superb finish and the hosts looked set for a fourth successive loss before Mbappe converted from a Juan Bernat assist with just three minutes remaining.
That was his 27th goal this season in all competitions, but it was not the end of the drama as Messi won a free-kick when he was fouled just outside the area by Benjamin Andre.
The World Cup winner stepped up to dispatch the dead ball into the net off the post to round off a remarkable game.
Monaco beat PSG last weekend before a 3-2 victory away to Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League play-off on Thursday.
The principality side went in front late in the first half against Brest through Aleksandr Golovin, and a rare goal from Dutch forward Myron Boadu doubled their lead, with Jeremy Le Douaron pulling one back.
Fourth-placed Lens were 3-1 winners against Nantes, while Rennes, who lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League in midweek, moved back above Lille into fifth by beating Clermont 2-0.
Ex-PSG forward Arnaud Kalimuendo scored both of their goals.
There were also wins for Lorient and Montpellier, while Strasbourg moved out of the relegation zone on Saturday by beating bottom side Angers 2-1 in their first game under new coach Frederic Antonetti.
Fellow strugglers Auxerre beat Lyon 2-1 on Friday, while Nice and Reims drew 0-0.
Messi snatches dramatic win for PSG after Neymar stretchered off
https://arab.news/jybxt
Messi snatches dramatic win for PSG after Neymar stretchered off
- The result ends a run of three straight defeats for PSG and moves them seven points clear at the top from Monaco, who beat Brest 2-1 away
Elvira holds his nerve to win 2026 Dubai Invitational
- The Spaniard finished top after five players had shared the lead on the final day at Dubai Creek Resort
DUBAI: A nerveless display during a roller-coaster final round saw Nacho Elvira come out on top to claim his third DP World Tour title at the 2026 Dubai Invitational.
No fewer than five players shared the lead on a chaotic Sunday at Dubai Creek Resort, where overnight leader Elvira cruised into a three-shot lead following a third birdie of the day at the seventh.
He left the door ajar when finishing his front nine with successive bogeys as Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Daniel Hillier and Marcus Armitage joined the Spaniard at the summit at nine under down the final stretch.
Lowry made his move with a birdie at the 15th, only to double bogey the last and spectacularly fall out of contention.
Hillier was the clubhouse leader at nine under, but Elvira carded his first birdie of the back nine at the 17th to earn a one-shot lead down the last and calmly rolled a final par for a brilliant victory.
“It means the world,” the 38-year-old said. “If you told me on Tuesday that I’d be winning this tournament I’d have never believed you.
“It’s a dream come true, especially having the family here. I’ve always dreamed to have my kids walking up to me with a win and anything that happens after this, nothing compares to this.
“I knew at some point it was going to be difficult, especially with the great players playing in front of me. I somehow managed to make a par on 10, managed somehow to make a par on 11 and I guess I calmed down a little after this and stayed patient.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t nervous until the very last putt — the one-footer I had for the win. I knew what I needed to do, I knew I needed to be patient. I think there are so many positives from this week and I couldn’t be happier.”
Elvira opened with a birdie to maintain his two-shot overnight lead at nine under, but it was reduced to nothing when Lowry birdied three of his first four holes.
The Spaniard became the first man to reach double figures with a birdie at the fourth and when he birdied the seventh, he led by three at 11 under.
Lowry had bogeyed the latter hole to slip back to eight under alongside Armitage, who had birdied the first and seventh to reach that mark, before Elvira twitched at the top.
Bogeys at the eighth and ninth saw him drop to nine under and he was joined by Armitage after the Englishman’s birdie at the tenth.
McIlroy seemed out of contention after two dropped shots and gain during his opening seven holes, but he surged into co-leadership after five straight birdies from the ninth.
Hillier, who had eagled the 13th, joined the party at nine under after his fourth birdie of the day at the 15th.
Lowry made it a five-way tie for the lead with a birdie at the 13th before Armitage dropped back one with a bogey at the 14th.
The Irishman jumped ahead on his own with a 27-foot birdie putt at the 15th before Hillier set the clubhouse target of nine under following a flawless 65.
The world No. 26 was inches from increasing his lead to two shots at his 16th, while McIlroy almost holed out from a greenside bunker to birdie the last, but two-putted to fall back to eight under.
Elvira still had the final two holes to play and piled the pressure on Lowry with birdie at the penultimate hole to rejoin the lead at ten under.
Just as the Spaniard drained his seven-foot birdie putt, Lowry’s bunker shot flew the final green and into the water to card a stunning double bogey. That meant Elvira only needed a par on the 72nd hole for victory and he showed nerves of steel to do just that from one foot.
Elvira was handed the trophy by tournament host Abdullah Al Naboodah, chairman of Al-Naboodah Investments and European Tour Group non-executive board member.
“Congratulations to Nacho Elvira on an outstanding performance and well-earned victory,” he said.
“The caliber of golf from both our professionals and amateurs has been remarkable. The pro-am format is what makes the Dubai Invitational special, and it remains an honor to host the world’s best here. Thank you to everyone who took part and to our global partners DP World and Rolex, along with our tournament partners Discovery Land Company, Dubai Basketball, Gulfstream and Silverlake.
“We also extend our thanks to the Wasl and World of Hyatt for providing the unparalleled backdrop of the Dubai Creek Golf Club and special thanks to the Dubai Sports Council and the Emirates Golf Federation for their continued support for the tournament and golf in the region. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2028."
Frenchman Julien Guerrier bounced back from a double bogey at the second with seven birdies to sit in a share of third at eight under alongside Spain’s David Puig, McIlroy and Lowry.
Armitage double-bogeyed the last to join Matt Wallace and Dane Thorbjørn Olesen at six under, while France’s Antoine Rozner and South African duo Thriston Lawrence and Dylan Frittelli were one shot further back to wrap up the top 10.
