PARIS: Paris St 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.

It was a slightly farcical goal, with Milan Skriniar making a hash of a clearance and Tenas not coming for a cross before Alan Virginius set up Keita to prod in.

Mayulu thought he had equalised with a superb strike in first-half injury time, only for a VAR intervention to rule the goal out for a foul in the build-up by Zague.

Achraf Hakimi, who will be suspended in the first leg against Barcelona and came on for the injured Mukiele, hit the bar early in the second half as PSG pushed for a leveller.

Mbappe came on midway through the

second half along with Marquinhos, with the Brazilian defender making his 435th appearance to equal the club record held by Jean-Marc Pilorget.

Ramos hit the bar after a Hakimi shot was parried, but the Portuguese forward did find the net as PSG’s pressure eventually paid off.

He drove forward and exchanged passes with Mbappe before slotting in to extend their unbeaten record to five months.

Despite their valiant performance, Clermont are bottom and sit seven points from outright safety.

Saturday’s other game in Ligue 1 saw Lens suffer a blow in their quest to qualify for Europe in a draw 1-1 at home to Le Havre.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2024