Paris Saint-Germain went eight points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table as Lionel Messi scored a stunning free kick in extra time to beat Lille 4-3 on Sunday.
PSG, who have struggled for consistency since their return from the World Cup break, extended their lead over second-placed Marseille, who travel to Toulouse later on Sunday.
Messi won a free kick five minutes into stoppage time, and the Argentine fired it into the bottom corner for his 11th league goal of the season and sealed a dramatic victory.
Lille, who finished fifth, almost stunned the hosts within the opening 40 seconds when Timothy Weah’s low shot took a wicked deflection, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was quick with his feet to save.
After an early scare, PSG grew quickly into the game, with Messi hitting the target from a tight angle after being played in by Neymar.
Kylian Mbappe, making his first start after two weeks out from injury, opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a brilliant display of individual skill, parrying two opponents and firing a shot past keeper Lucas Chevalier.
“The match was not very good, we made a lot of mistakes, but we have shown that we can win even when the context is not favourable. We are a different team, we can win all the time,” Embappé told Prime Video. ” ,
Christophe Gaultier’s side doubled their lead six minutes later when Neymar tapped in a Vitinha cross to finish off a flowing move.
However, Lille were far from passive as Jonathan David tested Donnarumma with a bullet header before Bafode Diakite nodded to pull back an Andre Gomes cross in the 24th minute.
PSG suffered a blow early in the second half when Neymar was taken off on a stretcher with a suspected ankle injury.
Lille won a penalty after Marco Verratti pulled Tiago Jallo’s shirt, and David comfortably converted the spot-kick to equalise.
Lille piled on the pressure and was rewarded when Gomes fired a long ball at the feet of Jonathan Bamba, who broke down Donnarumma’s effort to give his side the lead.
The visitors however let their intensity dip, and were awarded a penalty when Mbappé headed in Juan Bernat’s cross to make it 3-3.
PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe told Prime Video: “It was a crazy match, we scored the first two goals quickly, then we rested and Lille came back but in the end we were able to keep our heads up and win the match.”