Paris Saint-Germain extended their Ligue 1 lead to 15 points when they beat the bottom side, Bordeaux, 3-0 at home on Sunday, but their latest Champions League failure loomed large at the Parc des Princes.
Kylian Mbappé, who was spared the boos of the fans, Neymar and Leandro Paredes found the back of the net to give PSG 65 points from 28 games, four days after being knocked out of Europe’s premier club competition by Real Madrid despite holding a 2-0 lead in the tie with half an hour left.
The PSG players were met by a cold reception from the crowd, with Neymar heavily booed when he took a free-kick. The team’s “ultra” fans have called for the club president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, and the sporting director, Leonardo, to resign.
“We understand their disappointment and their hatred but we have to more forward to lift our heads up and win the Ligue 1 title,” the defender Presnel Kimpembe said. “We’re all at fault, we’re a team. It’s time to show that we have character and stick together.”
Only Mbappé, scorer of both goals in the 3-2 aggregate loss to Real, was cheered on by the fans, especially when he opened the scoring after 24 minutes from close range.
Lionel Messi’s name was also booed by the crowd when the announcer read out the starting lineups and hundreds of ultras left the Auteuil stand at half-time.
Neymar scores for PSG and is met with a mixture of cheers and jeers 😖
Extremely muted celebrations from the Brazilian and Lionel Messi… pic.twitter.com/xoNFye1Rc6
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 13, 2022
Neymar doubled the lead seven minutes into the second half but the goal was met by a mixture of whistles and clapping but the crowd celebrated properly when Paredes scored a penalty. Bordeaux, four points from safety, moved a step closer to relegation for the first time since 1991.
In Serie A, Alexis Sánchez’s stoppage-time goal earned Internazionale a dramatic 1-1 draw at Torino. In a title race full of twists and turns, Inter fell behind early on in Turin with the Brazilian defender Bremerscoring after 12 minutes.
Chances came and went for Inter in the second half, with Edin Dzeko heading over the most glaring opportunity from a glorious position but Sánchez’s composure in the 93rd minute earned what could be a crucial point for Inter in their quest to retain the Scudetto. Inter are four points behind leaders Milan with a game in hand. Torino stay 11th.
Napoli are second, three points behind Milan, after a double from the Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen fired them to a 2-1 win at Verona. Atalanta were held to a 0-0 draw by Genoa to leave them trailing the top four by eight points.
In Spain, Ferran Torres scored a brace and Ousmane Dembélé had two assists as Barcelona rolled over Osasuna 4-0 to earn their fourth consecutive La Liga win. The victory moved Barcelona into the top three with 51 points, five points behind second-placed Sevilla but with a game in hand.
Torres opened the scoring in 14 minutes with a penalty after Gavi was tripped inside the area. Seven minutes later, Torres doubled his tally, receiving a brilliant pass by Dembélé before beating the goalkeeper with a delicate finish. Dembélé was unstoppable on the right and five minutes later he teed up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to net the third from close range. The substitute Riqui Puig completed the victory when he found the net after collecting a rebound in the 75th minute.
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Sevilla’s title ambitions suffered another blow after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano, a sixth draw in the last eight league matches. Julen Lopetegui’s side are seven points behind Real Madrid who have a match in hand and travel to Mallorca on Monday. Rayo went ahead early the second half when Bebe netted a perfect strike from the edge of the box but Sevilla equalised through Thomas Delaney.
In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund edged past Arminia Bielefeld 1-0, with Erling Haaland back from injury, to cut the gap to Bayern Munich, the leaders, to seven points with a game in hand. Marius Wolf tapped in a Thorgan Hazard cutback for the winner in the 21st minute.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism