PARIS —
Paris Saint-Germain overturned an early
deficit to beat 10-man Saint-Etienne 3-1 away in Ligue 1 on Sunday, with
Lionel Messi setting up all three goals.
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The match also featured the long-awaited PSG debut of
Spanish defender
Sergio Ramos, while Neymar left the pitch sobbing in agony,
stretchered off with an ankle injury.
Still in November, the result leaves PSG on 40 points, 14
clear of second-placed Nice, who lost 1-0 at home to struggling Metz on
Saturday.
Saint-Etienne took a surprise lead when
Denis Bouanga beat
the offside trap to fire a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma on 23 minutes, a flag
went up but a VAR review awarded the goal.
The hosts, languishing in the bottom two but on the back of
two straight league wins, held their own against PSG, who appeared more
affected by the freezing cold and gusting snow.
All that changed with a red card.
There was no VAR to save the hosts on the stroke of
half-time when back-tracking defender Timothee Kolodziejczak was sent off for a
flailing challenge on Kylian Mbappe.
PSG then levelled when Marquinhos scored with a towering
header as Messi floated in the subsequent free-kick, sending in the sides
level, but with the hosts hanging their heads.
"At best that was too harsh," said Saint-Etienne
coach Claude Puel. "It changed the match, we were leading and doing
well."
The second half was one-way traffic with further goals coming
from Angel Di Maria on 79 and center-back Marquinhos with his second in time
added on — Messi again providing inch-perfect passes.
But there was bad news for PSG late on as Neymar fell in
full flight after treading on a defender's leg and twisting his ankle in a way
that made his teammates wince.
"That's life," Neymar said on Instagram.
"I'll be back better and stronger."
The result sees Saint-Etienne slip to the foot of the table,
behind Metz on goal difference.
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