Ethan Mbappe scores late equaliser for Lille against PSG in Ligue 1

ETHAN MBAPPE returned to haunt his former club Paris Saint-Germain by coming off the bench to score a late equaliser for Lille in Ligue 1.

The 1-1 draw at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy was enough for injury-plagued PSG to move one point clear at the top of the French league.

A much-changed PSG side made the trip north and substitute Nuno Mendes’s sublime second-half free-kick looked to have secured all three points for the reigning champions.

PSG coach Luis Enrique explained his team selection by prioritising player health after a difficult week following their Champions League match in Barcelona.

The first half offered few goalscoring opportunities despite Bradley Barcola wasting a clear chance to break the deadlock for PSG.

Lille started the second period brighter with 39-year-old Olivier Giroud attempting an ambitious overhead kick before Nabil Bentaleb tested the goalkeeper.

Luis Enrique made several changes on the hour mark and was rewarded six minutes later as Mendes whipped a fantastic free-kick into the top corner.

Mbappe then entered the field under the watchful eye of his older brother Kylian, now of Real Madrid, who was watching from the stands.

Achraf Hakimi could have sealed the victory for PSG in the 83rd minute but fired wide from a good position.

The headlines went to Mbappe who cut inside and fired a shot through the legs of Lucas Beraldo beyond the unsighted goalkeeper two minutes later.

Lille boss Bruno Genesio praised Ethan Mbappe’s character and self-confidence along with his qualities for the highest level.

Lille now trail PSG by five points in seventh position after the dramatic draw.

New arrival Emersonn scored twice including a 96th-minute winner as Toulouse fought back to beat Lyon 2-1 away from home.

Paulo Fonseca’s side went into the weekend level on points with PSG but now find themselves fourth after the surprise defeat.

Lyon looked set to go provisionally clear at the top when Malick Fofana put the hosts ahead on 24 minutes.

Brazilian forward Emersonn entered the fray off the bench inside the final 20 minutes to completely change the game.

The 21-year-old summer signing scored his first for Toulouse in the 87th minute with a deflected effort.

Emersonn then rose highest to glance home a corner in the sixth minute of injury time for the winner.

Lyon assistant coach Jorge Maciel described the result as cruel but not surprising for his team.

Maciel emphasised that his team can never be satisfied with a 1-0 lead and must not take their foot off the gas.

Elsewhere, Monaco and Nice played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the principality.

Sofiane Diop gave the visitors the lead before Nice went down to 10 men when Ali Abdi received a red card.

Diop doubled Nice’s lead from the penalty spot but the hosts fought back through two Ansu Fati spot-kicks.

Strasbourg thumped Angers 5-0 to go third in the table level on 15 points with Marseille and Lyon.

Rennes were held to a 2-2 draw at Le Havre despite being two goals ahead inside the opening half-hour. – AFP

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