Paris Saint-Germain failed to put together a winning copy for Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos as they ended their Ligue 1 season by squandering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 defeat against Clermont.
Early goals from the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe put the champions on top at the Parc des Princes before Johan Gastien, Mehdi Zeffane and Grejohn Kyei completed a stirring comeback for the visitors.
It was a soggy final note for former LaLiga heroes Messi and Ramos, who leave Paris as two-time league champions without winning the fans’ hearts – with Messi booed before kick-off.
It could also be a grim final chapter for coach Christophe Galtier, who is widely tipped to leave despite leading PSG to a record 11th league title.
PSG, who wore shirts bearing the name of injured team-mate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to save them after Kyei’s early finish.
The visitors immediately took control, Ramos heading in a farewell header from Vitinha’s cross before Mbappe doubled their lead with a superb penalty after Alida Seida’s foul on Achraf Hakimi.
However, Clermont refused to fold, with Gastien taking advantage of Marco Verratti’s error to halve the arrears and Zeffane combining to equalize either side of Kyei to slot home a free-kick in a thrilling first half.
Messi, who failed at the bye, spurned a chance after the restart to finish off Mbappe’s square ball before Kyei put the visitors ahead from close range.
PSG continued to push for an equalizer in the closing stages and Messi nearly stole a point in the last minute after injury time, but goalkeeper Moray Diaw stopped his direct free-kick with an acrobatic save.
PSG player ratings (3-4-1-2)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma – 2/10 – Unconvincing with the ball at his feet. Had to bail himself out of self-inflicted trouble far too many times, and didn’t cover himself in glory for either goal in the first half.
CB: Danilo Pereira – 4/10 – Struggled up against Clermont’s relentless high press. Couldn’t deal with the tempo.
CB: Sergio Ramos – 6/10 – A typically powerful header to bid farewell to the club. Should’ve done better for the third goal.
CB: El Chadaille Bitshiabu – 3/10 – Targeted by Clermont and regularly torn apart. His inexperience really showed here.
RM: Warren Zaire-Emery – 5/10 – Put himself about but the youngster is not a wing-back and clearly didn’t know how to play the position adequately.
CM: Marco Verratti – 4/10 – A huge mistake for Clermont’s first goal. Looked a little off the pace.
CM: Vitinha – 7/10 – Impressive with the ball at his feet. Bagged an assist.
LM: Achraf Hakimi – 6/10 – Got forward well and won the penalty, but switched off defensively as Clermont equalised before half-time.
AM: Lionel Messi – 6/10 – Dangerous in the early stages but saw his impact fade as time progressed.
ST: Hugo Ekitike – 5/10 – Tried to get in the right positions but seemed to lack both the composure and ability needed to make the most of those opportunities.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 7/10 – Not his strongest performance but still found the back of the net and could have added one or two more.
Substitutes
Carlos Soler (57′ for Ekitike) – 5/10
Renato Sanches (57′ for Vitinha) – 5/10
Alexandre Letellier (80′ for Donnarumma) – N/A
Marquinhos (80′ for Bitshiabu) – N/A
Ismael Gharbi (88′ for Danilo) – N/A)
Subs not used: Lavallee, Pembele, Nhaga
Manager
Christophe Galtier – 5/10 – Had his hands tied with injuries which made his team selection very difficult, but got his tactics wrong with his determination to play out from the back. This group of players was not up for the task.
Clermont Foot player ratings (3-4-2-1)
GK: Mory Diaw (7); CB: Alidu Seidu (6); CB: Mateusz Wieteska (7); CB: Maximiliano Caufriez (6); RM: Mahdi Zeffane (7); CM: Maxime Gonalons (7); CM: Johan Gastien (8); LM: Neto Borges (6); AM: Muhammed Cham (7); AM: Elbasan Rashani (8); ST: Grejohn Kyei (7)
Substitutes: Jim Allevinah (6), Yohann Magnin (6), Saif-Eddine Khaoui (6), Komnen Andric (N/A), Florent Ogier (N/A)