Published: 12:52, February 16, 2020 | Updated: 07:51, June 6, 2023
Amiens hold PSG 4-4 in Ligue 1 thriller
By Xinhua

Paris Saint-Germain's Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani (center) shoots the ball in front of Amiens' French goalkeeper Regis Gurtner (left) during the French L1 football match between Amiens SC and Paris Saint-Germain at the Licorne stadium in Amiens, northern France on Feb 15, 2020. (FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP)

PARIS - A stoppage-time equalizer from Serhou Guirassy helped relegation-threatened Amiens draw 4-4 with champions Paris Saint-Germain in a thrilling Ligue 1 clash on Saturday.

Despite their failure to win, PSG still sit 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, and now visit Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16

Starting brightly, the home side made a mockery of their lowly league position, surging into a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes as Guirassy scored the opener before Gael Kakuta and Fousseni Diabate added to the scoreline.

Ander Herrera pulled one back with his first goal for PSG to make it 3-1 just before half-time.

The defending champions, who were playing without their two aces Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, brought on Marco Verratti and Marquinhos at the break, and the effect was immediate as they started to find their pace on the pitch.

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17-year-old PSG academy graduate Tanguy Kouassi produced a superb performance after the one-hour mark, scoring two headers from corners in quick succession to level the scores at 3-3.

Argentinian striker Mauro Icardi thought he had completed a remarkable comeback for the Paris outfit in the 73rd minute, tapping home from Juan Bernat's cross.

But Guirassy denied PSG the win, netting his second goal of the game in injury-time to level the scores and salvaged a valuable point for Amiens.

"It's obvious we can't be happy conceding four goals. We weren't concentrating at 100 percent in the first half," PSG coach Thomas Tuchel rued. "We didn't start the game well enough. We didn't show the right mentality for this game. [But] our reaction was very good. We deserved to win the game."

Despite their failure to win, PSG still sit 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, and now visit Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday. But Brazilian star Neymar remains a doubt for that clash due to a rib injury which has kept him out of action for four games.

"I can't say right now, we must wait until tomorrow's training session," Tuchel said of Neymar's possible availability. "We will decide tomorrow."

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Amiens stay 19th and in the relegation zone with 21 points from 25 games, eight ahead of bottom side Toulouse and five behind 18th placed Dijon.

In Saturday's other matches, Toulouse suffered their 18th defeat of the season, going down 2-0 to Nice at home. Djion drew 2-2 at Bordeaux, Nantes held Metz 0-0 at home and Nimes claimed a 1-0 home win over Angers.