PSG held in final warmup for Barca showdown
Paris Saint-Germain warmed up for their looming Champions League showdown with Barcelona by fielding a shadow line-up in a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Clermont on Saturday.
PSG needed a Goncalo Ramos equaliser with five minutes left, following a one-two with substitute Kylian Mbappe, to snatch a draw and avoid what would have been just a second loss in Ligue 1 this season.
Malian midfielder Habib Keita had earlier given bottom side Clermont the lead in the first half, but they could not hold on for a repeat of their win in Paris last season.
Ramos’s goal, his 11th of the season for his club, allowed PSG to extend their unbeaten run to 27 matches in all competitions since a 2-1 loss away to AC Milan in the Champions League in early November.
“The players are professionals. We are in an excellent dynamic and we will not stop giving everything in our matches,” coach Luis Enrique told media after the game.
PSG’s second draw with Clermont in this campaign is just a minor setback on the Qatarowned club’s march to a 10th French title in 12 years. They are now 13 points clear at the top of the table, a gap that secondplaced Brest can trim to 10 points by beating Metz on Sunday.
However, there are just six matches left to play after this weekend, and it is a possibility that PSG could be confirmed as champions when they play Lyon at home in their next game on April 21.
By then, PSG will have played both legs of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona, who visit the French capital for the first encounter this coming Wednesday.
That impending date explained why Luis Enrique changed his entire starting line-up here following last midweek’s win against Rennes in the French Cup semi-finals.